Praise for school caretaker combating ‘Big Freeze'
As local schools and business return to normality after the festive season, many find themselves counting the cost of 'the big freeze' with burst pipes and damage to central heating systems causing problems for private homeowners, businesspeople and schools.
Not so at Omagh County Primary School, however, where the commitment and dedication of school caretaker, James Anderson, ensured that the school not only managed to stay open right to the end of term with no cold weather closures, but also that the school building was kept warm and dry throughout the Christmas holidays ready for return of pupils earlier this month.
Clearly prepared to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to keep the school building functional, James worked tirelessly to keep the playground and walkways as free as possible from frost and snow, making the school environment safe for the children, as well as paying special attention to the heating system in order to prevent problems caused by temperatures that fell into negative double figures.
James, who has worked at the school for 24 years since December 1986, says he doesn't remember much about his first winter as caretaker, but knows only too well the damage water can cause, having been at the helm during the floods of the following year when the school suffered extensive damage. His years of experience working in the County PS building meant he wasted no time springing into action when it became clear that December was no ordinary cold snap.
He explains: "We did get an extreme weather warning from the Western Board but to be honest the cold snap was already well underway by that stage. During term time there was a lot of work to be done keeping the play areas and walkways safe for children and their parents coming and going, and I was careful to make sure that the heating boilers, which are quite old, were kept running all the time so there was no danger that they would freeze.
"Because we managed to keep the school open right until the end of term, there was some residual heat in the building and over the holidays I just made sure the heating was on for a few hours at night and in the afternoons. Of course you can never depend on these things to look after themselves so I was in school everyday except Christmas Day just to make sure everything was OK. I live nearby, and after 24 years my wife is well used to me disappearing just to keep an eye on things!"
Paying tribute to James' dedication, school principal Ken Thompson said: "James is a man in a million and is committed to the welfare of Omagh County Primary in its fullest sense. The fact that we were able to keep the school open right to the end of term was due in no small part of him and his dedication in coming in to school even during the Christmas break is hugely commendable. Thanks to his hard work we have been able to begin the new school term without a hitch and we are all extremely grateful to him."
