For the first time since Heritage Christian School flooded on Sept. 10, students gathered Tuesday for class. Upon arrival at Heritage Christian, they were bussed to Trinity Assembly of God in Fairmont. That is the plan until repairs are made and the school reopens.

 

That’s a tall order.

 

“The aging building that houses Heritage Christian School has several issues that we are working on,” said Dana Gladysz of the school board of directors. “Water damage needs to be mitigated. The water sprinkler needs to be repaired. Phone lines and internet routers were involved … Ceilings need to be repaired. And the roof needs to be shored up. We need to test the fire panel and be sure it is fully operational. All of these things need to happen before we can bring our students back into the building.”

The ceiling came down, pouring water into the school. The damage was discovered during the early morning hours of Monday, Sept. 10.

 

Heritage Christian School Principal Melissa Mohr said received a phone call around 6:15 a.m. that morning from a teacher, who suspected there had been a major water leak. What, in fact, had happened is that water had accumulated on the roof – due to obstructed drains - and leaked into the school.

 

Mohr said a massive amount of water was inside the school.

 

“It pulled the ceiling down, which then hit a sprinkler pipe which caused even more water,” she said.

 

Dispatched via Harrison County Emergency Services, Bridgeport Fire responded, evacuating the building and securing utilities, thereafter contacting the State Fire Marshal to come inspect the building. Bridgeport Fire Chief Phil Hart said that day that added weight compromised structural components of the roof, lowering the ceiling inside the classroom and giving way to bust the sprinkler system and pipe, allowing more water to run in.

 

Gladysz said an engineering firm has reached out to help gain some understanding of exactly what happened. A construction company has also offered to help by supplying labor to tear out some of the water damaged ceilings.

“When a project seems too big to conquer, the best approach is to take it one bite at a time – one day at a time – and to accept any and all help that comes our way,” she said.

 

The community has been generous, members reaching out in their own way and specialty. Some have donated money; others have supplied labor and still others plan to donate construction materials. Some have even offered their structural engineering know-how, Gladysz said.

 

Those who would like to help with fundraising efforts can do so through any Harrison County Bank branch. The account is “Restoration and Repair of HCS.” A PayPal account – Restoration and Repair – has also been set up. In progress is the set up of a GoFundMe page, where donors can follow the progress of the project. Also stay up to date at the Heritage Christian School Facebook page or Web site.

 

Stay up to date on all ways to give HERE. 

 

Gladysz quoted Proverbs 11:25. “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” (New International Version.)

 

“My prayer is that Heritage Christian School will be back – better and stronger than it was – and that our contributors and donors will receive back seven-fold,” she said.

 

Editor's Note: Pictured are staff/family members of Bridgeport Physical Therapy, one of the local businesses raising funds for Heritage Christian. Patients can make donations there through Friday, Sept. 21.