Friday, March 12, 1999
Torched school on verge of return
BY SUE KIESEWETTER
Enquirer Contributor
HAMILTON — The walls at Wilson Junior High School sparkle. Gone are 30 years of accumulated grime and dirt.
New ceilings are in place in the cafeteria and kitchen. Carpeting has been replaced, and teachers are slowly putting desks back into neat rows and taking inventory of classroom odds and ends.
But it will be at least another week before the 870 seventh- through ninth-graders will be able to return to their school, damaged by a Jan. 15 arson that gutted the music room and did more than $1 million damage to the school.
District spokeswoman Joni Copas said the tentative reopening date is March 22. City inspectors must sign off before Wilson students can return to their building.
Equipment is set up at the school to monitor the air quality, Mrs. Copas said. “We'll be running the tests this week and next.”
When city inspectors approve reopening Wilson, Hamilton High School will resume its normal schedule. Since the fire, Hamilton High has operated on a split session, with high school students attending classes in the morning and Wilson students attending in the afternoon.
“It's never looked brighter. It's going just fine,” Wilson Principal Tracey Miller said of the cleanup.
Still, Mr. Miller said he will be glad to get his staff and students back to their own building. Never mind that music students will be meeting either on the cafeteria stage or in the library because the music room — where the fire started — won't be ready.
Tim Cummins, 17, of Hamilton, has been charged as an adult with aggravated arson in connection with the fire. A 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty to juvenile charges of aggravated arson and other offenses, and was sentenced to two years in a state juvenile detention facility.
Building cable system from ground up
Suburbs find room for more
Hamilton Co. looks at big picture
Wrestling grabs more kids
Teen wrestling matches canceled in California
Cincinnati, Columbus race to house manatees
Omitting special ed kids may have aided Ky. scores
CPS hired teacher unaware of sex-abuse charges
Panel's mission: Funding rail line
Charges pile up against mom accused of killing 7-year-old
Mayor-turned-bank robber gets 7 years
Torched school on verge of return
Vietnam memorial wall replica returns to N.Ky.
Activity called key for Ohio riverfront
Family, faith help heal woman's wounded heart
Foster moms tell of girls' emotional scars
'Hood tour brings variety of sounds
Judges to look at felons' role at CCC
Ky. lawmakers fret over Turfway future
Workers fought fire in paper plant, delayed calling for help
Acting-out boosts police training
Barge barrels into bridge
Butler may not budge on jail
Driver dies in rollover
Falmouth rejects plan to fix budget
Jurist found dead at his home
Leftover dirt should save pile of money
Mother in wheelchair acquitted
Petition drive on for change
Police: Beware of African hoax
TRISTATE DIGEST
