Slither, an albino corn snake, will soon return to his home after being evacuated from a classroom, following the Tuesday morning flood at The Lipman School.
For now, he sits nervously in his tank in the office of Sandra Brown Turner, the school’s director.
“All of our classroom pets had to be relocated, due to the chemicals being sprayed in the classrooms,” Turner said.
But soon Slither will return to the delightful stares of wide-eyed children in a classroom. Come Monday morning classes will be back in session at the Barbara K. Lipman Early Development School a laboratory/demonstration school of The U of M College of Education.
Officials of the Physical Plant Department at The University have worked quickly to ensure that classes will start on time. Most have been canceled or moved to different locations since Tuesday.
In the past several days, the school has been sprayed to prevent mold. Also, carpets and piping have been removed and replaced.
“First, we removed all of the water from the building. Simultaneously we have been repairing pipes, removing carpets and carpet adhesives,” said Calvin Strong, director of Campus Landscape and Custodial Service for Physical Plant. “We hope to finish over the weekend and have classes ready by Monday.”
Although damage to the building was severe — nearly 80 percent of the building had some sort of water damage — Turner is proud of her fellow faculty members and how they have dealt with the flooding situation.
“The faculty has been remarkable,” she said. “They have risen to the occasion and thought of creative ways to carry on.”
Turner also commended the parents of Lipman School children in their handling of the watery ordeal.
“For the most part, parents have been very patient and compassionate with the situation,” Turner said.
As for the students, Turner said they are doing just fine. Flooding of the school has allowed them to visit many unfamiliar sites on campus.
“The children have had a wonderful opportunity to explore the campus. They have had the chance to visit the art museum, the earthquake center and the library. Some of them even had a picnic on the grounds in front of the Administrative Building,” Turner said.
According to Strong, a faulty pipe in the girls’ restroom was the cause of the flooding. The pipes are currently being replaced with copper pipes.
“We have dealt with this situation many times,” Strong said. “We don’t have the funding to repair old pipes and prevent leaking or flooding, so eventually they burst.”
Although flooding of the school was inconvenient for everyone, including the classroom pets, Turner said she feels something positive can be taken away from this situation.
“It all seems very tedious. But out of this experience, all of the things that have needed to be replaced for some time, are being replaced.”
