School District 58 is going after a contractor for the $10,000 deductible it paid out earlier this year for damage to its gym.

The damage was caused by the sprinklers in the gym being triggered by the summer heat.

The total damage was estimated at $190,000.

A subsequent investigation revealed the sprinkler heads weren’t correctly installed or weren’t the correct ones.

The gym has been fully re-opened since Oct. 6.

Student safety an issue on Lindley Creek Road

The board of trustees for School District 58 will be letting the new City of Merritt council know about its concerns for student safety along Lindley Creek Road.

At their regular meeting in Merritt on Nov. 19, trustees said they’d like to see a sidewalk built on Lindley Creek Road, which is used by students who walk to Collettville and Central Elementary schools.

The district sent a letter to the City of Merritt about two years ago requesting a sidewalk on that road.

Board chair Gordon Comeau said re-sending the letter to the new city council, which will take over in December, will outline their concerns and re-ignite the conversation.

Another issue with student safety is the road has heavy truck traffic as it leads to the entrance of Tolko.

Another possibility to address student safety is to redirect truck traffic and ask the city to rezone the turn from Midday Valley Road to Lindley Creek so trucks don’t use that portion of the road, trustees said.

The school board said ideally, trucks would be diverted from that stretch of road and the city would put a sidewalk in.

SD58 won’t foot bill for Princeton playground

The school district won’t be paying for a replacement playground at Princeton’s Lions Park, board chairman Gordon Comeau told fellow trustees at their regular meeting on Nov. 19.

The property on which the playground equipment sits in the Allison Flats area of Princeton was willed to SD58 to be used for the betterment of the community. That community’s Lions Club raised the money to purchase a playground, which is now well-worn.

The district signed a 25-year lease with the Town of Princeton that specifies the town is responsible for maintaining, fixing or replacing the landscaping and playground equipment. The lease agreement expires in 2016.

Comeau said the playground equipment no longer meets safety standards and needs to be replaced.