You may remember meeting in the PAC on the very first day of school, possibly filled with either excitement or nerves about starting yet another year. You may also remember the water dripping behind the screen, illuminated by the light of the projector. Turns out this projector wasnʼt ours, but was borrowed from Springdale High School due to water damage.

This dripping seen in the PAC was supposedly caused by the massive wind storm experienced in late July, with speeds reported to have reached around 61 mph, knocking several pieces of the ceiling loose, allowing water to pour into the building. All these damages add up to one big question, what does this unwanted water mean for our beloved PAC?

Instead of panicking as one of the strongest forces of nature threatened to destroy everything the performing arts department holds dear, Erwin thought logically, asking how do we stop this, and what can be salvaged?

“Three of the curtains need to be replaced, and each curtain costs between 15 and 20,000 dollars,” said Erwin. “Weʼre not sure about the floor, its wood, so it will take some time to see if there is any damage.”

These arenʼt the only problems we owe to leaking water. Several ceiling tiles became too soggy and crashed to the floor in the choir room, and who knows how many more have done the same all over the building?

Wet conditions can be made terrifying when they happen to be in areas where electricity is being used, and this is the case with the PAC. There was standing water in electrical components in the stage floor, and further leaks can cause damage to the mechanized pulley systems. Even the wires holding curtains and other equipment up can become rusted when exposed to water over time.

With these damages to the PAC, the question of what will the performing arts department do when it comes time to have concerts and plays has been on the minds of students and teacher alike. Erwin says the concert shell was not affected by the leaking water, so for choir and band, the show will go on. As for theatre productions, the curtains will have to be replaced before audiences can look forward to applauding our young actors again.

So who is responsible for fixing this? The roof of the school is still under warranty, so the roofing company contracted out by the school district is in charge of repairs. The schoolʼs insurance should cover most of the damage to the PAC, after it meets its 20,000-dollar deductible, the price of one curtain.

This leaking problem has obviously caused a lot of damage around the school, and creates more problems for people to solve. One of these problem solvers, previous resident maintenance man Mr. Totty, maintains a positive outlook despite the recurring water leakage.

“Iʼve been here for 9 years and the roof has leaked ever since Iʼve been here,” said Totty, “One time we had 128 leaks.” Totty estimates that we have about 60 leaks in the school right now, and he along with others have worked tirelessly to fix this problem. “I donʼt give up,” said Totty, evidence that the Wildcat Spirit is alive and well in all members of the Wildcat community, even when disasters attempt to wash us out.