A year after flooding threatened Jakeman All-Grade School in Trout River, caretaker Kirby White said everything is good and secure at the school itself.
He praised the work done to rebuild the riverbank at the rear of the school after it began to give way to the town’s flooded brook on Jan. 16, 2018.
White said the crews that came in first dug out the racing brook and then filled it in with large armour stone. After that, they added more fill.
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“This was done within a two-week period right after the flooding and I feel the school is now safe and secure, especially since they had engineers from different government departments checking out the work while it was being done,” he said.
White, who has been working with the school for the past 10 years and lived most of his 51 years in Trout Brook, said he wouldn’t want to see anything else like the flooding they had last year.
“The rushing water was just feet away from the foundation of the gymnasium. You could actually see the footing,” he said.
White said prior to that the brook’s bank was 25 to 30 feet from the back of the school.
“It (the brook bank) eut out pretty good and I hope to never see it again, but you never know,” White said.
Once engineers approved the work that was done at the school grounds after the flood last year, a contingency plan to teach the students elsewhere was scrapped and the students went back to Jakeman All-Grade School the following week after the flood.
