WEBBTIDE 2001-2002 @ SHORELINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Feb. 01 - Feb. 14, 2002 ARCHIVE GUESTBOOK HELP
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Pipe rupture closes campus

.
      A pipe main leak escalated into near chaos on the College's campus yesterday as police cars and security officers rallied to direct the student-faculty mass exodus. School was out on a pipe-leak day.
      The parking lot quickly became a melee of swerving vehicles as cars and buses packed with students and staff members forced their way through the confusion in an attempt to exit campus.
      A minor accident occurred near the East Gate Entrance, temporarily congesting the exit route. An articulated bus caught the curb at the south exit and stalled outgoing traffic for five minutes as it slowly backed and turned repeatedly. On Innis Arden Way, cars lined the road a quarter mile back as some U-turned their way out of the crawling line of vehicles.
      The campus was a mess.
      So the news was out: Shoreline was a dry campus in more ways than one.
      Since July of last year, Director of Plant Operations Larry Tilford has noticed a minor leak near the edge of the road next to the east gate entrance, including erosion on the slope alongside the road. For reasons still unknown, the leak was never investigated until the erosion became more apparent near the beginning of this week.
      On Wednesday, the decision was made to bring in the plumbers and solve the problem beneath the eroding earth. An email memo went out that afternoon warning that there would be traffic congestion near the east gate due to Holmberg Plumbing's work on the leakage.
      "They noticed that the ground was sloughing away," said Keith Label, vice president of administrative services. "They didn't know what the situation was so they called in the plumbers."
      According to Wednesday's email memo, the labor would start at seven a.m. No mention of class cancellation or water stoppage was made.
      The leaking and erosion caught little attention before this week. No one was aware of the increasing hazard or even that there was a pipe in that area, Tillford said
      Whether the leaking observed since July was related to yesterday's incident or not is still uncertain.
      "We don't know for sure if the two were related," Tilford said. "There was water leaking off and on since July but it began to leak even more at the beginning of the week."
      To the chagrin of the College's administration, an unexpected turn of events occurred. Yesterday morning an emergency phone message went out to all faculty warning that the water would be shut off temporarily.
      The leak then turned into a rupture when the plumber's backhoe tore the pipe apart while digging into the surface. More than ever, a replacement pipe was needed.
      When Shoreline's administration realized that the replacement pipe had to be transported from Woodinville, they decided to cancel all classes until 4:30.
      The Department of Health suggests that the situation would cause a health and safety hazard if the water was turned off for more than two hours and fifty minutes," Shoreline
      President Holly Moore said.
      Vice President of Human Resources Paulette Fleming cited drinking fountains and restrooms as facilities that would cause substantial "sanitary concerns."
      "We just had a large enough staff and student body that it didn't make sense to keep them here," Fleming said.
      The childcare facility took priority in the administrations concern over aquatic accommodations. The dental department, gym and science lab also added to their health concerns.
      Fleming called the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for advice on the crisis and was informed that the campus population was too large to be left without water facilities.
      Shortly after the administration made their decision to close the campus, an urgent message was plastered on the home page for the College's website and copies of fliers informing students of the class cancellations were posted throughout the campus.
      The College was shut down.
      "We knew there was a leak but could not locate it, so we didn't know exactly what we were going to run into," Tilford said.
      Unfortunately the pipe, roughly two inches in diameter, caused more problems than just a plumbing bill.
      Nearly a year ago the Feb. 28 earthquake struck the campus in the middle of class instruction, catching the College by surprise. Since then, Moore has implemented an emergency management plan for such situations. Yesterday, all that planning paid off.
      Safety and security also jumped to action and doubled their shuttle runs to the Sears lot to help accommodate fleeing students.
      As the school recovered from an unexpected twist to the daily schedule, plumbers regained control of the facilities and restrooms.
      The two snow days and the pipe-leak day have left many students short on class time this week. But thankfully yesterday's crisis was resolved somewhat smoothly as plant operations, campus security and Shoreline Police Department helped to bring the situation to a close.
      Perhaps Fleming summed up the crisis the best: "Bringing in port-a-potties just wouldn't do," she said.

.

by Chris Collins

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Pipe rupture closes campus
.	A pipe main leak escalated into near chaos on the College's campus yesterday as police cars and security officers rallied to direct the student-faculty mass exodus. School was out on a pipe-leak day. The parking lot quickly became a melee of swerving vehicles as cars and buses packed with students and staff members forced their way through the confusion in an attempt to exit campus. A minor accident occurred near the East Gate Entrance, temporarily congesting the exit route. An articulated bus caught the curb at the south exit and stalled outgoing traffic for five minutes as it slowly backed and turned repeatedly. On Innis Arden Way, cars lined the road a quarter mile back as some U-turned their way out of the crawling line of vehicles. The campus was a mess. So the news was out: Shoreline was a dry campus in more ways than one. Since July of last year, Director of Plant Operations Larry Tilford has noticed a minor leak near the edge of the road next to the east gate entrance, including erosion on the slope alongside the road. For reasons still unknown, the leak was never investigated until the erosion became more apparent near the beginning of this week. On Wednesday, the decision was made to bring in the plumbers and solve the problem beneath the eroding earth. An email memo went out that afternoon warning that there would be traffic congestion near the east gate due to Holmberg Plumbing's work on the leakage. "They noticed that the ground was sloughing away," said Keith Label, vice president of administrative services. "They didn't know what the situation was so they called in the plumbers." According to Wednesday's email memo, the labor would start at seven a.m. No mention of class cancellation or water stoppage was made. The leaking and erosion caught little attention before this week. No one was aware of the increasing hazard or even that there was a pipe in that area, Tillford said Whether the leaking observed since July was related to yesterday's incident or not is still uncertain. "We don't know for sure if the two were related," Tilford said. "There was water leaking off and on since July but it began to leak even more at the beginning of the week." To the chagrin of the College's administration, an unexpected turn of events occurred. Yesterday morning an emergency phone message went out to all faculty warning that the water would be shut off temporarily. The leak then turned into a rupture when the plumber's backhoe tore the pipe apart while digging into the surface. More than ever, a replacement pipe was needed. When Shoreline's administration realized that the replacement pipe had to be transported from Woodinville, they decided to cancel all classes until 4:30. The Department of Health suggests that the situation would cause a health and safety hazard if the water was turned off for more than two hours and fifty minutes," Shoreline President Holly Moore said. Vice President of Human Resources Paulette Fleming cited drinking fountains and restrooms as facilities that would cause substantial "sanitary concerns." "We just had a large enough staff and student body that it didn't make sense to keep them here," Fleming said. The childcare facility took priority in the administrations concern over aquatic accommodations. The dental department, gym and science lab also added to their health concerns. Fleming called the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for advice on the crisis and was informed that the campus population was too large to be left without water facilities. Shortly after the administration made their decision to close the campus, an urgent message was plastered on the home page for the College's website and copies of fliers informing students of the class cancellations were posted throughout the campus. The College was shut down. "We knew there was a leak but could not locate it, so we didn't know exactly what we were going to run into," Tilford said. Unfortunately the pipe, roughly two inches in diameter, caused more problems than just a plumbing bill. Nearly a year ago the Feb. 28 earthquake struck the campus in the middle of class instruction, catching the College by surprise. Since then, Moore has implemented an emergency management plan for such situations. Yesterday, all that planning paid off. Safety and security also jumped to action and doubled their shuttle runs to the Sears lot to help accommodate fleeing students. As the school recovered from an unexpected twist to the daily schedule, plumbers regained control of the facilities and restrooms. The two snow days and the pipe-leak day have left many students short on class time this week. But thankfully yesterday's crisis was resolved somewhat smoothly as plant operations, campus security and Shoreline Police Department helped to bring the situation to a close. Perhaps Fleming summed up the crisis the best: "Bringing in port-a-potties just wouldn't do," she said.	.
by Chris Collins