Two Red Bank Catholic schools closed after town electric malfunction
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
By Christina Leslie | Staff Writer
Students and staff in Red Bank Catholic High School and St. James Elementary School enjoyed an unexpected extension to their winter break after multiple underground explosions rocked the borough’s Broad Street Jan. 4. Heavy smoke, but no fire, filled the air Sunday afternoon as JCP&L equipment malfunctioned, causing about 260 customers to lose power and prompting the closing of the town’s two diocesan Catholic schools the next day.
“We get our power through Peters Street, so the school never lost power,” said Robert Abatemarco, principal of Red Bank Catholic High School, “but we closed the school as a precautionary matter. We didn’t want to take the chance with our kids.”
Abatemarco noted Broad Street had been closed for repairs by the power company and access to the school would have been difficult or impossible for many students and parents, thus the decision was made to close the school Jan. 5.
“In today’s world, we have to get the message out right away; in this age of instant communications, we have to get out in front of it,” the principal said, noting word of the explosion was on Facebook moments after it occurred.
In addition to posting the closure on local television stations and the school’s website, Red Bank Catholic utilized the automated Honeywell Instant Alert system to notify parents via cell, text, email or landline that children would enjoy one last day of vacation before classes resumed.
“There is no damage to the school,” Abatemarco assured The Monitor Jan. 5. “We even checked to make sure all the bricks in the front were okay. There are a few cracks in the sidewalk, but not many.”
The principal noted that the school had three days built into the calendar for inclement weather; “this is just a snow day without snow. Everyone will be back tomorrow,” he said.
After a post-explosion outage of 260 customers, and evacuation of three downtown buildings, power to most area residents and businesses had been restored by Sunday evening. No one was injured in the blasts that were visible in manholes near Peters Place, but equipment, road and sidewalk repairs were ongoing.
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By Christina Leslie | Staff Writer
Students and staff in Red Bank Catholic High School and St. James Elementary School enjoyed an unexpected extension to their winter break after multiple underground explosions rocked the borough’s Broad Street Jan. 4. Heavy smoke, but no fire, filled the air Sunday afternoon as JCP&L equipment malfunctioned, causing about 260 customers to lose power and prompting the closing of the town’s two diocesan Catholic schools the next day.
“We get our power through Peters Street, so the school never lost power,” said Robert Abatemarco, principal of Red Bank Catholic High School, “but we closed the school as a precautionary matter. We didn’t want to take the chance with our kids.”
Abatemarco noted Broad Street had been closed for repairs by the power company and access to the school would have been difficult or impossible for many students and parents, thus the decision was made to close the school Jan. 5.
“In today’s world, we have to get the message out right away; in this age of instant communications, we have to get out in front of it,” the principal said, noting word of the explosion was on Facebook moments after it occurred.
In addition to posting the closure on local television stations and the school’s website, Red Bank Catholic utilized the automated Honeywell Instant Alert system to notify parents via cell, text, email or landline that children would enjoy one last day of vacation before classes resumed.
“There is no damage to the school,” Abatemarco assured The Monitor Jan. 5. “We even checked to make sure all the bricks in the front were okay. There are a few cracks in the sidewalk, but not many.”
The principal noted that the school had three days built into the calendar for inclement weather; “this is just a snow day without snow. Everyone will be back tomorrow,” he said.
After a post-explosion outage of 260 customers, and evacuation of three downtown buildings, power to most area residents and businesses had been restored by Sunday evening. No one was injured in the blasts that were visible in manholes near Peters Place, but equipment, road and sidewalk repairs were ongoing.
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