Cold weather closes new school, recreation center

MEEKER I Sub-zero temperatures created several problems at the Meeker Recreation Center and the new elementary school, closing both facilities for at least two days.
“Tuesday when it got real cold our heating system went off line that night and when we came in Wednesday morning, it was 32 degrees in the building,” said Mike Weinbrecht, operations manager for the rec. center.
Weinbrecht said sprinkler heads froze and a pipe in the multipurpose room burst. A four-foot section of pipe needed to be replaced, walls cleaned and carpets dried before reopening the center. One computer keyboard was damaged.
According to Weinbrecht, the fire suppression system was repaired and tested and “everyone pitched in and got it up and running.”
The rec. center was closed Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. It reopened last Saturday at noon.
“It could have been a lot worse,” Weinbrecht said.
Meeker Elementary School principal Jason Hightower said moisture in the gas line caused the regulator to freeze, cutting off gas supply to the building, which shut down the boilers.
“Wednesday was a cold day but we kept as warm as we could,” Hightower said.
School was canceled Thursday to install a bypass around the regulator and canceled again on Friday.
“Friday, we were a little nervous of the reliability,” Hightower explained.
According to Hightower, Meeker students are scheduled more hours than required by the state and the missed days will not have to be made up.
“We don’t build in snow days,” Hightower said. “This is the first time in the 10 years I’ve been here we’ve called off school.”