TV Schools Set to Open Tuesday, April 1I find it interesting that now they are going to take advantage of the back roads should 212 have to close again.
TV Schools will open school for students on Tuesday, April 1. “We’re very encouraged with the fact that water has receded much faster than originally projected by the US Army Corps of Engineers last week,” said Mark A. Murphy, superintendent. School officials met late Sunday afternoon with county commissioners and representatives from the US Army Corps of Engineers to receive the most up to date water elevation projections. “We are prepared to take full advantage of the downward trend in water levels and clearing of roads so that we can welcome and resume classes for students,” Murphy added. As of Sunday, numerous county roads and State Route 212 between Zoar and State Route 800 remained closed due to high waters, preventing TV Schools from opening Monday.
Although the Ohio Department of Transportation plans to officially open State Route 212 and the entrance to Tusky Valley Road (County Road 106) Monday afternoon, school officials were advised by commissioners and the US Army Corps of Engineers on Sunday that the opening of State Route 212 may not be permanent based on anticipated rain events later this week. As a result, district officials have created alternative measures to safely transport students to and from school if warranted.
District transportation supervisor Jim Downing and Superintendent Murphy met Monday morning with Sheriff Walt Wilson and Bo Hysong of the Sandy Township Trustees to review contingency plans in the event State Route 212 were to close again. School bus and other school traffic would be temporarily re-routed to 2nd Street in Zoar to Mineral-Zoar and Bailey Roads. “We are extremely grateful for the support and blessings from Sheriff Wilson and the Sandy Township Trustees in re-routing traffic if State Route 212 is not open or if it were to close again,” expressed Murphy. “Our primary goal is to ensure the safe transportation of all students, and I’m confident we can do that with the clearance and assistance from our local law enforcement.”
In other preparations, individual contact will be made to families of students whose designated bus stops are changed due to flooded roadways. “We are elated to be able to welcome our students back,” Murphy expressed on behalf of staff and the Tuscarawas Valley Board of Education. “In re-opening, we urge all drivers to be extra cautious, follow posted road signs, and allow flexibility with school and transportation schedules.”
Monday, March 31, 2008
They're going back!
Just published on the Tusky Valley Schools website this afternoon:
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Okay, one more quick update
The Times Reporter posted a press release from Tusky Valley Schools saying school will be closed Monday, April 31st. But stay tuned! The water levels are dropping pretty quick. Rumor has it, and I repeat that this is a rumor, people in the district are hearing Tuesday or Wednesday for a return to class. Again, that is just a rumor. We took a ride over by the schools this afternoon and saw that water is sitting on Tusky Valley Rd., but 212 looked dry.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Things are getting back to normal
After a long week of flooded roads, closed businesses and frayed nerves for many, things in northern Tuscarawas county are returning back to normal for some.
State Rt 212 reopened at the I-77 interchange Thursday evening which was a welcome sign for many as they no longer had to circumnavigate the back roads of east-central Ohio trying to get somewhere that normally would have taken only minutes to accomplish. Add to that, St Rt 800 from Mineral City to 7 Mile Drive also reopened giving access for those folks to get back and forth. We also found out tonight that the residents of Michael Lane have a dry road to get in and out their development too. Now all that's left besides getting the back roads dry is getting access to the schools so buses can get moving and the kids that are currently climbing the walls back into their desks.
So with things slowly getting back to normal in this dam(med) river valley, I want to thank all of the loyal readers of this blog for stopping in from time to time to get the skinny on what's been happening around here. I will continue to update as things occur. Hopefully nothing else will, but there are still unanswered questions about why this has been allowed to happen again.
State Rt 212 reopened at the I-77 interchange Thursday evening which was a welcome sign for many as they no longer had to circumnavigate the back roads of east-central Ohio trying to get somewhere that normally would have taken only minutes to accomplish. Add to that, St Rt 800 from Mineral City to 7 Mile Drive also reopened giving access for those folks to get back and forth. We also found out tonight that the residents of Michael Lane have a dry road to get in and out their development too. Now all that's left besides getting the back roads dry is getting access to the schools so buses can get moving and the kids that are currently climbing the walls back into their desks.
So with things slowly getting back to normal in this dam(med) river valley, I want to thank all of the loyal readers of this blog for stopping in from time to time to get the skinny on what's been happening around here. I will continue to update as things occur. Hopefully nothing else will, but there are still unanswered questions about why this has been allowed to happen again.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Kids not going back to school for a while
I decided to take a look for anything new on the Times Reporter website, and I was greeted with this article about the kids and school.
TV schools likely to be closed next week
The Times-Reporter
Posted Mar 27, 2008 @ 05:17 PM
Last update Mar 27, 2008 @ 05:29 PM
ZOARVILLE, OH —
Tuscarawas Valley schools are likely to remain closed Monday through April 4, based on information received today at a meeting with the Tuscarawas County Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and county commissioners.
Students and parents are urged to check local media and the district Web site, www.tuskyvalley.k12.oh.us for announcements pertaining to the official reopening of school.
“Our original hope was to open school on Monday, March 31,” said Superintendent Mark A. Murphy. “We are obviously becoming increasingly frustrated and concerned about the loss of teaching and learning time for our students.
“Attempting to open schools in spite of high water and many impassable roads poses a number of risks, challenges and liabilities, including the safety of school buses, student drivers, risk of not being able to get students home, and possibly denying education to many children not able to get to school.”
Although water levels have decreased, Corps officials anticipate rainfall may cause water pools to level off or potentially increase throughout next week.
The district had established five days this week (spring break) for calamity make-up days, but circumstances prevented that. Before flooding, the district had one school day to make up due to snow and icy road conditions. An additional four days have been missed so far because of flooding.
The law requires districts to make up any school days which exceed the first five.
Murphy said because of the extraordinary circumstances, the district is pursuing assistance from state legislators and requesting relief from having to make up all the calamity days as well as flexibility with attendance requirements for graduating seniors.
In another matter, the community Information and Input meetings rescheduled for Monday and Tuesday have canceled and will be rescheduled.
- TV superintendent Mark Murphy
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Goin slow....
Not much new news to report tonight. The river levels in northern Tuscarawas County continue to drop at a fairly steady pace. Unfortunately, folks just south of the dam are now affected by water in their homes. I guess there is no easy answer to this situation.
Hopefully later tomorrow the water levels will be low enough to open the interchange to I-77. It appears that it's getting close by the look of things. You can almost walk right down the center of the road to the other side without getting wet. It must also be low enough for the folks at the Bolivar Wendy's. For the past week they had posted on their sign that they would return when the water recedes. Tonight the sign reads, "See you Thursday".
Work continues in haste at the Zoar Levee also this evening. Crews continue their 24 hour a day crusade to bring in loads of dirt and gravel to shore up the eroding levee. With the water falling rapidly, hopefully their efforts will save the historic village from any further damage.
Hopefully later tomorrow the water levels will be low enough to open the interchange to I-77. It appears that it's getting close by the look of things. You can almost walk right down the center of the road to the other side without getting wet. It must also be low enough for the folks at the Bolivar Wendy's. For the past week they had posted on their sign that they would return when the water recedes. Tonight the sign reads, "See you Thursday".
Work continues in haste at the Zoar Levee also this evening. Crews continue their 24 hour a day crusade to bring in loads of dirt and gravel to shore up the eroding levee. With the water falling rapidly, hopefully their efforts will save the historic village from any further damage.
What if?
I know there has been a lot of talk over the past week about dam stability especially in light of the battle being fought in Zoar. But what would happen is the Dover Dam, God forbid, failed? I remember a few years ago the TR had an article on that scenario, but I couldn't find it this morning. Instead, I found a very detailed plan on the county's EMA website.
Click here to read about it. (Adobe Acrobat required)
Click here to read about it. (Adobe Acrobat required)
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Uh-oh
Hot off the presses!
This doesn't sound too good. I hope they are able to do something quick to save the town!
The Times-Reporter
Posted Mar 25, 2008 @ 06:35 PM
ZOAR, OH —
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is continuing its interim risk reduction measures on the Zoar Levee. TAB Construction, contractor for the Corps is 60 percent complete with the initial filter placement.
To increase the level of protection, Corps officials decided to expand the area and depth of the filter blanket. The work is expected to be completed by Saturday. Corps inspectors continue to monitor the levee around the clock.
The Corps continues releases from Bolivar and Dover Dams. Water levels behind the dams continue to drop.
For more information, contact the public affairs office at (304) 399-5551 or (304) 360-1744 or visit www.lrh-wc.usace.army.mil/wc/distns.htm
Great article in today's Time Reporter
Today's TR has a great article that really sums up the last 24 hours in Zoar. Take a look!
Monday, March 24, 2008
What goes up..
With over 24 hours of increased flow out of the Dover Dam, roads are starting to clear off. Cars are making it though the standing water that's left on Dover-Zoar Rd which is good news for folks that have to get to Dover-Philly from the north!
As stated earlier, the water that covered the bottom of North Orchard has disappeared in less then 24 hours and add to that, the water level on the 212 bridge over the river is back to about what it was Friday afternoon! So hopefully the rest of the water at the interchange will make like a tree and.....you get the drill.
Work continues at the Zoar Levee tonight. What started out as just a gravel road being built has grown into a huge project at the levee. Where once there was sandbags is now covered with dirt, and lots of it! Also in Zoar tonight, it appears that people are taking the possible evacuation to heart. Units from the Bolivar Fire/EMS are on hand in town to assist Zoar if needed. We also saw what looked like folks loading up a pickup with personal items to get them to higher ground.
We also wanted to give a shout-out to Gov. Ted Strickland for coming up to Zoar last night to see things first hand. From the lack of media attention, (the television media that was there to tape the meeting didn't even mention his presence), this was an unplanned visit without much if any fanfare. He even got turned around due to the flooding. So from the looks of it, he does have a genuine concern for what's going on in the area.
That's it for tonight. Hopefully these posts will become less frequent. Hopefully there won't be a need for these posts ever again in the future. It's my blog, I can dream.
As stated earlier, the water that covered the bottom of North Orchard has disappeared in less then 24 hours and add to that, the water level on the 212 bridge over the river is back to about what it was Friday afternoon! So hopefully the rest of the water at the interchange will make like a tree and.....you get the drill.
Work continues at the Zoar Levee tonight. What started out as just a gravel road being built has grown into a huge project at the levee. Where once there was sandbags is now covered with dirt, and lots of it! Also in Zoar tonight, it appears that people are taking the possible evacuation to heart. Units from the Bolivar Fire/EMS are on hand in town to assist Zoar if needed. We also saw what looked like folks loading up a pickup with personal items to get them to higher ground.
We also wanted to give a shout-out to Gov. Ted Strickland for coming up to Zoar last night to see things first hand. From the lack of media attention, (the television media that was there to tape the meeting didn't even mention his presence), this was an unplanned visit without much if any fanfare. He even got turned around due to the flooding. So from the looks of it, he does have a genuine concern for what's going on in the area.
That's it for tonight. Hopefully these posts will become less frequent. Hopefully there won't be a need for these posts ever again in the future. It's my blog, I can dream.
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