Dear Families and Staff,
We are writing again to update you on the ongoing situation that has affected Covington Middle School over the past several days.
The Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) and the Roanoke Valley Regional Hazardous Materials Team determined on Sunday, February 2, that a natural gas-fueled oven in the kitchen was the source of difficulty in the building. The ventilation hood system that would normally exhaust fumes to the outside was not operating properly, causing carbon monoxide to be released and detected in the kitchen and cafeteria. The oven has been removed and the related gas line has been capped. Even though an extensive investigation occurred at CMS on Friday, January 31, this was not detected until Sunday afternoon.
Those responding to the situation included the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, both Covington and Alleghany County emergency managers and their teams, an independent vendor, the gas utility company, and numerous Alleghany Highlands Public Schools staff members.
Crews have been onsite to address the issue since Monday. Although VDEM and local first responders have declared the building free of natural gas and carbon monoxide, AHPS is conducting further building checks prior to welcoming students and staff back, as the division has decided this additional assessment is important to our school community. As a result, classes at CMS have been canceled for Wednesday, February 5.
As a reminder, a variety of resources are available on the AHPS website, https://ahps.k12.va.us. These include the [email protected] email account that is being used to assist with related questions and to collect information individuals may wish to share with AHPS. It is the function of the Virginia Department of Health to assess public health situations, and the agency is in contact with LewisGale Alleghany and AHPS leaders. Division leadership initiated contact with VDH and is very grateful for the agency’s support.
AHPS administrators are developing a continuity of learning and services plan to ensure missed instructional time will be made up.
We will continue to provide updates on this situation at https://ahps.k12.va.us. Please note that the frequently asked questions (FAQ) page is updated routinely and that we have added information from Johns Hopkins University to support you in locating health information.
Thank you for your attention to this important update.
Sincerely,
Kimberly K. Halterman
Superintendent