Eastwood school officials spent part of the Christmas vacation meeting with mechanical contractors to discuss how the air in the elementary buildings could be improved.

Carbon dioxide levels were cited as a likely cause for some students passing out in November  during a music program. School officials said the levels are well below the threshold considered to be a safety hazard.

According to Brent Welker, superintendent, duct cleaning work at Webster Elementary School is completed and asbestos abatement and cleaning of the plenum room is scheduled to start. Plans to resurrect the house fan for the building remains the best option, Welker said, with an estimate of more than $61,000. Work should be completed later this month.

The old fan at Luckey Elementary School cannot be resurrected without a huge investment, making it cost prohibitive, Welker said.

“We will be replacing a univent in one of the third floor classrooms and equipping it with technology that would allow it to draw in air from the outside and temper it before entering the classrooms,” he said. “We will then do testing of the air to make sure that this solution will bring enough fresh air into the classroom to keep CO2 levels below Jarod’s Law standards without having to open the windows. If this works we will commence with getting the rest of the univents updated.”

There is no house fan at Pemberville Elementary School. Welker said the best option is to equip univents to bring in fresh air. One univent in a third floor classroom will be updated and new readings taken.

If the univent solution, estimated at roughly $165,000 for work at Luckey and Pemberville, does not solve the problem, school officials will have to contract with an architectural/engineering firm to develop a solution, he said, adding that will likely “dwarf the cost estimates we currently have in front of us.”

Brown to head commissioner group
Wood County Commissioner Tim Brown has been elected by his colleagues in Northwest Ohio to serve an additional term as president of the Northwest Ohio Commissioners and Engineers Association.

The election and swearing-in ceremony took place in Columbus at the commissioners’ winter conference.

“I am honored by the support of my colleagues and I look forward to continuing my work with them to create jobs for our citizens. We have a lot of work to do to turn around Ohio’s economy and Wood County is leading by example, working with companies like First Solar and CSX to create new jobs. Working together we will meet the challenges of this economy,” Brown said.

Board to organize for 2010
The Benton-Carroll-Salem Board of Education organizational meeting will be Jan. 13 at 6 p.m. at the board office.

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