Gas leak reported on campus was quickly repaired

A small natural gas leak was reported on Wednesday, Feb. 12 inside campus, in the office of tech coach Richard Kim. 

According to the Director of Maintenance, Transportation and Facilities at Walnut Valley Unified School District Sam Sornoso, the reason for the gas leak was because of normal wear and tear.

A work order was quickly issued by the district and subsequent repairs to the damaged gas pipe in a corner of Kim’s office, located between D-1 and D-2, were made. The drywall near the entryway into his office was removed and a corner of the ceiling with it in order to find and repair the pipe. 

As Kim entered his office each morning, he began to feel nauseous each morning. English teacher and Publications adviser So Hee Tan reported that she also experienced a headache but could not confirm that it was a result of the gas leak because the district did not detect gas in her room, D-1. Kim had suspected that there was a gas leak on campus and reported his suspicions to operations manager Conchita Cawley.

“I wasn’t feeling well when I came into my room. I had to move rooms after the leak was [reported],” Kim said. “I am a little concerned about my health because [we] don’t know how long it may have been going on for.” 

Since the location of the gas leak was attached to adjacent classrooms, some students were also affected by the gas leak. 

“I never actually [realized] there was a gas leak near my English class,” junior Andrew Wang said. “I’ve [felt] mild headaches every now and then so this might be the [cause] of it.” 

The repairs began the same weekend and were later finished by the work crew on Monday, Feb 17. 

“[In order to prevent any other leaks from occurring], the site and the district will continue to monitor our infrastructure,” Sornoso said.