Jasper High School Gymnasium roof collapses early this morning
If you came here on July 7, 2014, we are sorry, this is an old story and it was accidentally shared on social media again while we were working on the website. We assure you that to the best of our knowledge the Jasper gymnasium is fine.
This was actually the first major story the Dubois County Free Press reported on.
Again, we apologize for the accidental misfire to our social media pages.
Luckily Dr. Jerrill Vandeventer, the Greater Jasper Consolidated Schools Superintendent, was in his office early this morning. He was there trying to decide if a two hour delay was necessary due to the high amount of rainfall overnight when he received the call from Jasper Fire Chief Kenny Hochgesang reporting that the Jasper High School gymnasium’s roof had collapsed.
The chief and others had responded to the high school when the fire alarm began to sound around 5:24 a.m. The high school was dark and they thought a lightning strike had caused problems at the school, but when they entered the building and found water flowing through the hallways from the gymnasium they knew something more serious had occurred. They soon found the remains of the gymnasium’s roof lying on the basketball court leaving the structure open to the pouring rain.
Upon hearing of the collapse, Dr. Vandeventer decided it was necessary to close the Jasper schools until the extent of the damages was determined.
The morning’s light fully disclosed the extent of the damage to the gymnasium. The roof had completely collapsed into the structure, the west wall was no longer on plane (bowed out), and the south wall adjacent to the cafeteria was damaged.
Hastily assembled staff and volunteers pulled equipment, jerseys, and school property from the storage areas in the gymnasium. They slogged through 1 to 2 inches of water in the darkened hallways as the alarms sounded continuously. They loaded vehicles with whatever they could salvage until they were barred from entering the area. Police tape is now draped in front of the doors until structural integrity of the building can be determined.
According to Paul Brumleve, the structural engineer that had worked on the new additions to the high school in 2002, “In the ten minutes I have spent thinking about this, I would say with certainty the roof is a complete loss, but if the first floor is determined to be structurally sound then it may be saved if we decide to cut the roof off.”
The cause of the roof collapse has yet to be determined but the tremendous amount of rain and wind the area has been stricken with in the past month was believed to be largely responsible.
Dr. Vandeventer did state that on Friday maintenance crews had been on the roof ensuring the drains were open and at that time the roof was dry.
The Jasper High School will remain closed at least until Wednesday. If damages to the north portion of the school are apparent the school will have to look at alternative sights to finish the year. VUJC has been contacted to assist if it is necessary.
The planned Graduation and Commencement ceremonies are still scheduled for May 27, but a new location will be determined over the next few days.
According to Dr. Vandeventer, make up days have not been planned yet, but after the immediate situation is dealt with a decision would be made for those lost days of school.
The three Jasper Elementary Schools and the Jasper Middle School will be back to school as usual tomorrow.
“We are so grateful that no one was injured. No staff, kids, or public were hurt during this event.” Dr. Vandeventer said at the new conference this afternoon. The Jasper High had just celebrated their prom and after prom events on Saturday night prompting one attendee to state “imagine if this had happened 17 hours ago,” to which WITZ’s Walt Ferber commented “or 40 minutes later”.
