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Power outage prompts AAHS early dismissal

A power outage caused by work at the construction site of the new school necessitated early dismissal from the Altoona Area High School on Wednesday morning.

Altoona Area Community Relations Director Paula Foreman said the outage occurred about 6:20 a.m. as students were en route to school.

“At that time, we didn’t know how long it would last. We sent an alert out to families and updated them at 9 a.m. At that point our power was still not on,” Foreman said. “Because there was no power in the high school building, teachers and students congregated on the Roosevelt Intramural field for ac­count­abil­i­ty and an attendance count. School should be in session tomorrow.”

Penelec spokesman Todd Myers said the outage was caused by the district’s construction contractor digging up an underground power line that is district-owned.

Penelec workers had been working to restore power to the high school through Wednesday afternoon.

“We don’t like to dismiss early,” Foreman said. “But with no electricity, it was not a safe environment.”

Walkers and student drivers were dismissed at 9:45 a.m. as well as special education vans.

At 10 a.m., bus transportation was scheduled to begin.

Students who attended the afternoon session of Greater Altoona Career and Technology Center remained at the junior high school until they reported to the GACTC.

Mirror Staff Writer Russ O’Reilly is at 946-7435.

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