Leaky pipes cause brief K-wing closure

by Marty Green

School administrators closed the kindergarten wing at Hildreth Elementary School on Wednesday after discovering small leaks from heating-unit pipes in two rooms there. HES Principal Sue Frederick said in an email to parents that the leaking glycol antifreeze left a harmless but unpleasant smell, so all students in the K-wing were moved to other parts of the building for the day.

Frederick later told the Press the leaks were fixed the same day, with the K-wing back in use on Thursday, except for one room where the smell lingered. There was no need to breach classroom walls to make the repairs, she said, so the longterm problem of the mold sealed in the walls was not an issue. The age of the pipes and the extremely cold nights probably both contributed to the cracked pipes, Frederick said.