Heavy rains soak Norton school
 NORTON
— With just a week to go until students return
to its halls, Cornerstone Elementary School in Norton
flooded Aug. 20 after the area was soaked with several
inches of rain.
Water became a problem
at the school, located at 4138 S. Cleveland-Massillon
Road, after Monday’s heavy rains overwhelmed the
site. Norton City Schools Superintendent David Dunn
said the flooding resulted because the school is situated
on a site that is affected by water runoff in heavy
rains.
“It was coming down so fast that the drains could not take all the water,” he said. “The water was coming in under the doors.”
A whirlpool of water going into
a drain is shown below.
The school’s parking lot
had several inches of water, and city and
school officials responded by using boards and sandbags
to hold back the water.
Shown at top left, Norton city worker Ken Bowerson helps place sandbags outside the school to keep the flooding at bay.
The school’s principal,
Hollings Belcher, is pictured at top right as he helps
vacuum water from an office.
John Boling, head mechanic for Norton City Schools, lends a hand in a counselor’s office, as shown above.
Dunn said he was pleased to see the collective efforts of residents and city workers to help with the flooding.
“I am extremely pleased with how people here pitched in, from the building principal and staff to bus staff and even people driving by and stopping to do whatever they could to minimize the impact,” Dunn said.
He added the flooding damage
was not severe and would not affect the first day of
school, set for Aug. 28. —
By Kathleen Folkerth
Photos: Ken Crisafi
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