Flushing the problem

School maintenance watched as Moorcroft Public Works crew flushed out the storm drain beneath the MK-8 playground early Monday morning. The town crew hooked a hose to the nearby hydrant west of the building and flushed the pit as the operator of the town’s vac-truck controlled the large vacuum hose, dislodging and clearing out debris and closing the hole before children arrive to start the day.

According to school maintenance supervisor Steve Gary, when the playground was installed several years ago, the drain near the slide beneath the rubberized ground cover was apparently pinched by the contracted crew working on the area, causing a backup of water that, in turn, washed away the land surrounding the drain.

The school maintenance crew found the impacted area around the slide and asked the town to assist with their equipment. They then fixed the drain and backfilled the compromised space. Gary said that the company that will relay the ground cover will probably be on site within a couple of weeks and the area is safe for the kids until then.