Is The Heat Working

 
Hey it is cold outside and the heating system is having a bad day.

The heating system in the High School has a mind of its own. It is very unpredictable, about the time you think everything is working good it has mood change and dose weird things.  The High School has two heating systems but only one heat source. Half of the building is heated with steam and the other half with hot water, with a steam boiler being the heat source for both systems.

After giving a report on the condition of the heating system it decided to show us it true condition and sprung a leak in the heat exchanger on the hot water side of the heating system. The heat exchanger is where steam is used to heat the water for the hot water system, and it does not work well with a hole in it. We put a big band-aid on the heat exchanger to hopefully hold until the new one gets here. Hopefully this cold spell will be gone by that time.

Everyone at the High School was good sports about having to use portable heaters for a day or two. We are looking at more updates for the heating system to make it more reliable.

Hot Water Problems

Hot water problems in the Littlefork building, we added hot water to all the classrooms in March of 2010. They must really enjoy the hot water because the water heater cannot keep up with the demand.   It is good that the students are washing their hands a lot. There has been a lot of sickness this winter and they say washing your hands is one of the best defenses against the flu bug.

The good news is we are in the process of fixing the problem and there should be lots of hot water real soon.    

Don’t get the Fire Marshall mad at us

We are having problems again with the use of extension cords and the miss use of surge protector in classrooms. According to fire code and electrical code extension cords cannot be used as permanent wiring devices. The only time they should be used is for a temporary hookup such as portable equipment. We have been getting into trouble with the Fire Marshal about surge protector ever since we started using them. The reason is the miss use of the surge protector by plugging a surge protector into a surge protector. The problem that it can cause is that each surge protector was designed to protect the number of devices it has plug-in for. By plugging one into the other you are overrating the first one and could cause a fire by overheating the unit.

We have solved most of the problems of having to use extension cords and having to plug one surge protector into the other by installing more electrical outlets. If you run into a situation where cannot move things around to make it work without using extension cords or doubling up surge protectors call maintenance department and we will install more electrical outlets if possible.

New Efficient Lighting Systems

The Auto/Wood Shop lighting system is being replaced with a more efficient lighting system. Flathead Electric has a rebate program that will help pay for the more efficient lighting system in order to help conserve energy. The lighting system in bus barn will also receive new efficient lighting upgraded.

This program has helped the school to upgrade all the lighting in all the building. Last summer the Elementary Bigfork Building replaced all the lighting in the classrooms. The new lighting solved all the ballast noise in the classrooms. The lighting system in the Math Portables was also replaced with the more efficient lighting. The only areas that still have the old lighting system are the Elementary Library, the Kitchen, and the stage in the High School, and they will be done in the future.

Hot water in the classrooms

Elementary Little-Fork building will be getting hot water in all the classrooms over Spring Break. All of the rooms have sinks and cold water now, but only five rooms have hot water.

 With the emphasis on washing hands to help prevent illness in the student body and staff hot water will be provide in all the classrooms. Part of the new hot water system was installed during the construction phase of the new addition. This will make a good improvement to the building.

No Hunting on School Grounds

No hunting on School Campus. I realize Bigfork is just a small village with deer walking down the streets at times, but you don’t shoot them. Who would ever think you would have to put up no hunting signs in populated areas of the town, and at all places the school. Someone with the lack of commonsense shot a deer at the tennis courts,field dressed it, and drove on to the property and hauled it off, there are houses all around that area. So we put up no hunting signs, only in Montana.

Christmas Break Projects

The remodeling of the Elementary building continues. Over Christmas break, the kindergartner entrance and bathrooms will get a face-lift. We will be replacing the flooring and giving the area a new coat of paint. Because of the amount of water that gets on the floor, the new flooring will be a new style of sheet vinyl that is non-slip, which does not require waxing. The old counters and sinks were replaced last summer.

During Christmas break, many of the tile floors especially the hallways in both schools and Elementary gym get two or three coats of wax. With all of the tile floors we have now requires most of the time, we have during Christmas break.

Also during the Christmas break, the heating systems are serviced replacing the air filters and getting them ready for the cold months ahead. With the new addition to the Elementary, there are many more heating units with some of them on the roofs. The air filters are replaced three to four times a year.