Church Opens Doors After Oologah Schools Cancel Classes Again

A church is trying to help make life easier for parents of Oologah students after the school district announced classes would again be canceled Friday due to a gas leak.

The leak has forced classes to be canceled all week as crews try to pinpoint the location of the leak.

Finding the line has been one of the toughest parts because the district lost all its blueprints during a tornado in 1991; but, Thursday, they made some headway and were able to find the gas line and start digging.

While crews did that, some Oologah’s Assembly of God church on Highway 169 kept students busy by opening their doors for parents who couldn’t stay home to watch them.

2/24/2016 Related Story:  Natural Gas Issue Closes Oologah-Talala Schools For Fourth Day

Thursday morning, volunteers were at the church including high school students, teachers and members of the community helping watch and play with the children.

But a few blocks away, on the Oologah school campus, it was nothing but hard work as crews try to find the source of a gas leak that’s shut down the district for four days.

Fourth grader Emily Utter explained the situation as she knew it.

“They have to dig for it so it's gonna take a while,” she said.

Workers found the gas line Thursday and started digging. Superintendent Max Tanner hopes to only have to dig in the dirt areas, but the line also runs under a road and part of a concrete playground.

“There is a possibility that we might have to break concrete and tear up asphalt,” Tanner said.

There's no clear answer on when the school will be able reopen. That can be hard, and costly, for working parents, which is why First Assembly of God children's pastor, Lorie Keys, is giving children a safe and free place for kids to go during the day.

Utter said, “My mom and dad have to work, so I think it's really cool that she just sets up to come here and takes the time to do it.”

"They seemed very grateful. One parent even offered to leave a donation and we don't want donations. We're not looking to raise money...we just want to provide a service," said Keys.

The students got a free lunch and had a good time, but some said they'd actually rather be in class on a cold day.

“I kinda don't because we'll just have to make it up on spring break or in the summer,” Utter said.

The time off might be most stressful on teachers, who say every second of class time counts, especially this time of year.

The superintendent said it's now a 24-hour operation, which means crews will be digging and running pressure tests until they find the problem.

Until that happens, he can't say what the next step in the process will be.

He said the district can't hold classes off campus because there's not a big enough place to accommodate all the students.

The church will be open again for students from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.