JENKS, Okla. — Monday morning, Jenks West Elementary opened its doors with space heaters running in every classroom and kids bundled up.
Low temperatures, cloudy skies and steady rainfall illustrate the blustery conditions Green Country is facing this week. Jenks is no exception, and the West Elementary school is going through it without the luxury of central heat. The gas has been turned off to the building for several days, making maintenance workers place space heaters in every classroom to keep temps at bay. The district had a gas leak, at another site, in 2020. They took the lessons from that fiasco and applied it to this one.
"I think what that taught us is, we need to have contingencies, we need to be able to mitigate these circumstances," district spokesman Rob Loeber said, "That’s what led to us having all the space heaters on hand that we do."
He said the district has done their part in terms of repairs, but is needing the City of Jenks and ONG to take it across the finish line.
2 News called the city Monday morning. They sent us the following statement.
"When gas lines have leaks, they must be repaired, and then inspected and approved by the local authority/municipality before the gas company will restore service. Standard procedure for all cities and gas companies. The contractor (company/individual responsible for repairing leak) has requested an inspection from the city this afternoon. If it passes inspection, a release form will be emailed to ONG immediately."
Loeber says in some cases, these gas leaks can take up to three weeks to repair. It is mostly out of the school’s hands.
"I mean, if we could give a time, we’d love to be able to do that," Loeber said.
Instead, the district is taking it day by day.
As for ONG, 2 News called them too. They declined an interview, instead, sending the following statement.
“At Oklahoma Natural Gas, safety is our top priority. Our crews respond promptly to every report of a potential natural gas leak. When we find an issue with a customer’s piping or equipment, we inform the customer that repairs must be made before their service can be restored. In most cases, a city inspection and system test are required before permanent service can safely be restored. Once that occurs, we will work with the customer to relight the system. The school took the correct action by immediately calling us. We encourage all of our customers to make safety their priority. To report a natural gas odor or emergency, leave the area immediately and then call 911 and us at 800-458-4251.”
ONG told 2 News there is no specific timeline for the repairs to be completed. The customer is required to hire a qualified service agent and the testing time varies depending on the work that needs to be done.
Some parents may be wondering why the school will not move to distance learning. Loeber says it's all about the students' experience.
"In-person learning is the best situation for our students and if we can get our classrooms and our common areas up to a temperature that is comfortable and workable, and continues to be a safe environment, then we want to have our doors open for students," Loeber said.
Some parents 2 News heard from seem to be on board with that. One said their daughter had “no issues.” another said they sent blankets but their kids “didn’t need them.”
2 News will check back with the school district until the problem is resolved.
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