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It’s back to business for OH WOW!
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The OH WOW! Children's Center is located 11 W. Federal Street in Youngstown.
By Elise Franco
Youngstown
OH WOW! resumed regular operations Wednesday, after plumbing problems closed the facility for several days.
Water backups closed the facility on New Year’s Eve, but Executive Director Suzanne Barbati said staff worked through the holiday weekend to ensure the children’s museum reopened quickly.
“We’re really happy and appreciative of community support while we were closed. I really did not want to close,” she said. “We’re a community organization and resource, and we wanted to open be available to the community.”
Barbati said OH WOW! has a packed schedule through January, so those who were hoping to come in on New Year’s Eve still have the opportunity.
“We will honor First Night Youngstown badges through Jan. 31, and we have events scheduled almost every day this month and on the weekends,” she said.
Winter hours are Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.
General admission is $7 per person. Children age 2 and under are free.
Barbati said the plumbing issues began a few days before Christmas and continued until it closed Dec. 31.
“There was a problem with the line, so the toilets backed up three times last week,” she said. “The water backed up from the first-floor bathroom’s drain and drained through the floor boards into the lower level, creating a mess.”
Barbati said the water didn’t contain raw sewage, but they closed anyway to clean the facility properly. Employees worked through the weekend and finished cleaning Tuesday, she said.
“Our plumber came and snaked the drains a second time on Saturday,” she said. “They ran a camera through the line Monday that will be looked at [today] to determine a long-term resolution.”
Barbati said in plumbing costs alone, about $1,100 has been spent so far. That doesn’t include overtime, cleaning or repairs to water-damaged areas.
“The infrastructure is old, and the pipes in the plaza have probably been here for a long time,” she said. “We just have to figure out what we’re going to do to resolve this.”