HOWLAND $200,000 in damage caused by flooding

Insurance will cover only about $25,000 of the estimated $200,000 loss.
ANGELA V. WOODHULL
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
HOWLAND -- Last week's storms brought 53 inches of rain inside Howland Middle School, destroying an estimated $200,000 in equipment and school records.
Superintendent John Rubesich was the first to discover the flooded lower level, where a refrigerator floated on its side.
An estimated 13 computers were ruined, along with printers, office equipment, shelves and walls.
"It looked like a 4-foot [deep] swimming pool," Rubesich told the board of education Monday night.
Jeff McBicker, maintenance supervisor, was called in and began pumping out the water while Rubesich contacted township administrator Darlene St. George to request that Howland schools be added to the emergency relief list, the superintendent said.
Staff members patiently peeled apart soaked documents one page at a time and separated them into hundreds of piles that are now drying all over tables and benches in the cafeteria.
"You think it smells bad in here now?" Rubesich said. "It's smells like roses" compared to last week.
What's been done
High-powered fans, directed at the salvaged documents, are running 24 hours a day.
Altogether, enough debris to fill about four construction Dumpsters was hauled out of the middle school and the high school.
Insurance will cover only about $25,000 of the damage.
The school board is applying for federal and state aid through the Federal Emergency Management Agency to try to cover the rest of the loss.
New drywall is being put up. Destroyed carpet is being replaced with ceramic tile "just in case this should ever happen again," Rubesich added.
A new gymnasium floor is being installed to replace damaged, curling wood at an estimated cost of $50,000.
The board approved three-year limited contracts for Robert Blevins, network supervisor; William A. Paczak, assistant superintendent; Michael Pollifrone, assistant high school principal; and Frank Thomas, high school principal.