On Tuesday, October 22, 2024, Ukiah High students and staff were taken by surprise when district maintenance crews began repairing a ruptured water main outside the E Building. By the end of the Veteran’s Day weekend, the repair was fully completed.
Ukiah High News reached out to Gabriel Sherman, Director of Maintenance for Ukiah Unified School District, for insight into the break and the steps taken to address it.
“Once maintenance staff identified the break,” Sherman told UHS News, “they quickly assessed the damage and put a temporary patch on the line that afternoon. The following day, the line was shut down again for a full repair.”
Photos captured by UHS News showed maintenance workers digging a deep trench to access the damaged pipe, with a substantial pile of mud nearby, highlighting the extent of the effort required.
Eleventh-grader True Beatty shared that he was taking a STAR interim assessment in his English class when the sound of jackhammers disrupted his concentration. Tenth-grader Anahi Andrade also noted that the noise made it difficult to focus on her English homework.
Sherman acknowledged the impact, stating, “This disruption on campus caused some confusion for both students and staff, but it was necessary to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
After consistent work by the maintenance team, the site was fully restored. By Tuesday, November 12, 2024, when students returned after the Veteran’s Day weekend, the area was neatly covered with a fresh patch of concrete, looking as if nothing had ever happened.
Savannah Kram
Savannah Kram is a senior at Ukiah High School and in her third year of Journalism. She is the Publicity and Communications Commissioner for the leadership class at UHS and the President of the Ukiahilite Club. She joined the journalism class for new experiences, to write about local and current events, and to bring awareness to subjects that have yet to be spotlighted. She was born in Ukiah, California, but lived in Texas for six years. Returning to Ukiah at the age of 11 inspired her to become more involved within the local community. She is ecstatic to finish her journey at Ukiah High News this school year and hopes to focus on journalism in college.
