Students displaced while power’s out

Almost 500 Waldron Middle School students will be scattered around town possibly for the rest of the week while a control panel that supplies electrical power to the school is replaced, school district Superintendent Daniel Fielding said Monday.

Classes were supposed to start Monday in Waldron after the holiday vacation, but Fielding canceled classes throughout the district to allow the administration to develop a plan for moving and holding classes for the middle school students until electric service to the school resumes, a statement on the district’s website said.

The statement said a fire Saturday afternoon destroyed the power control panel for the middle school. Fielding said Monday that he believed it could be replaced by the end of the week. There was no damage to school buildings, he said.

In the meantime, the district will hold classes for middle school students in multiple locations.

All students will be dropped off each day at the Waldron High School commons for breakfast and will report to the auditorium for further instructions. They will then be bused by the district to various locations. Students will have lunch either at Waldron Elementary School or at the high school.

Fifth-graders will go to the First Baptist Church, sixth-graders to the Nazarene Church and seventh-graders to the University of Arkansas-Rich Mountain satellite campus in Waldron.

According to the district, the doors will be locked at each location for safety and security and there will be additional adult supervision.

Eighth-graders will remain at the high school.