Hello Parents and Guardians of Students at Canyon View Elementary,
This afternoon I wanted to send a personal message to express my appreciation for the care our community showed today for the safety of the students at Canyon View Elementary. While the day started just like any other, our students and teachers were asked to change course in rapid fashion and follow our emergency evacuation plans. They did a wonderful job following their teacher’s instructions, staying with the rest of the class, and gathering in safe spots on the playground while emergency crews were called in to inspect a suspected natural-gas leak outside of the building.
When it was determined that it would take a significant amount of time to investigate the cause of the leak we transported the children via school bus to nearby Butler Middle where the children could be picked up by an approved adult. I want to thank all the parents for your cooperation and patience as we worked through the check-out process. I hope you could see that we went to great lengths to ensure that every child was released into the care of a responsible adult who could show us proper identification. As of about 1 p.m., all of our students had been released into the custody of their parents, guardian, or an approved adult.
If your children have not told you already, as they waited to be picked up, they watched “Monsters, Inc.,” on a theater-sized screen in the auditorium and munched on pizza that had been prepared by the middle school’s nutrition service workers. They loved it! It seemed more like a school party than a response to an emergency situation.
In the meantime, it’s been determined that a malfunctioning boiler was the reason for the strong odor of natural gas. Safety valves did their job by forcing the natural gas outside. The reason it was believed to have been a faculty natural-gas meter is because the pipes from the boiler are found immediately adjacent to the meter. The strong odor of natural gas was coming from the boiler pipes — not the meter — but we didn’t know that until the utility company did an extensive look at the meter and the pipes.
An HVAC crew has been dispatched to the building to fix the malfunctioning boiler and to fire up the second boiler so the building has at least some heat. At this point, school is expected to resume on a regular schedule on Monday morning.
We also recognize that students may have left important personal items behind. A representative with Canyons District security will be at the building from 4-6 p.m. today to facilitate the retrieval of belongings. Please know that our students’ well-being is our main priority, and that they were safe and supervised throughout the entire incident. As principal of Canyon View Elementary, I thank you for your continued support. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me during office hours at 801-826-8053 or send me an email at kierstin.draper@canyonsdistrict.org. Thank you.
Kierstin Draper
Principal
Canyon View Elementary
