Misinformation causes concerns about construction near AF elementary school

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Story Published: Sep 30, 2009 at 5:42 PM MDT

Story Updated: Sep 30, 2009 at 6:29 PM MDT

By Wes Horrocks

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AMERICAN FALLS - Parents in American Falls called Eyewitness News Wednesday morning worried that construction near Hillcrest Elementary School could create safety problems for kids.

As kids left class many parents walked to the school to meet them.

They wanted to avoid what they saw earlier. Katrina Stucki, mother of a 1st grader said, "I came to drop my kids off this morning and there were cars everywhere, and kids were running across the street. It was horrible."

The problem is that the normal drop-off/picked-up zone closed last night while construction crews replace water and sewer lines.

Students took a letter home to their parents stating work will be done in 60 days, but that's not accurate. American Falls Mayor Amy Wynn said, "I apologize on behalf of the city for the misinformation that went out (Tuesday)."

The intersection on Bennett St. is scheduled to re-open again next Friday.

In the meantime, parents are encouraged to use Pierce St. which will temporarily be two-way so they can pick-up and drop-off their children.

A new letter was sent home Wednesday to clarify what's happening and to show parents a map of the changes.

School administrators just want to keep kids safe. Tina Fehringer, Hillcrest Elementary Principal said, "Crossing guards are in place there, and if we need to look at adding more crossing guards we can do that."

American Falls Police officers will also be in the area next week to watch for any problems. Wynn said, "We're hopeful that this will be done even sooner than next Friday, and have reason to believe that it could be."

The entire construction project should be finished within 45 days.

Originally the city planned on finishing the work in August, but the contractor didn't actually start until the middle of September.

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