High water forces students to pull all-nighter at schools

LINCOLN COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) - More than 100 students at two schools in Lincoln County will be spending the night at their schools due to high water Thursday.

Bob Stickler, the chief of the Hamlin Fire Department, says about 60 students are expected to stay overnight at Lincoln County High School, and more than 100 students are expected to stay all night at Duval PreK8, which is currently using the Board of Education Building in Hamlin as its school while the building in Duval is under construction.

Stickler says this is being done to keep the students safe, as it’s not deemed safe for buses to be traveling in several areas due to the high water. He says some parents of the children affected have found ways to get to the schools to pick up their kids. Students at the high school have been playing basketball in the gym and board games in the auditorium.

School staff has provided pizza and drinks for the kids. Several teachers volunteered to stay all night with the kids. Firefighters and community members are dropping off blankets, pillows, and cots. Stickler says the students are enjoying themselves and making the best of the situation.

Stickler says Lincoln County Schools has cancelled school for Friday. He says firefighters performed five water rescues in the county when drivers got stuck in high water. No one was seriously hurt.

The chief says schools let out two hours early due to the weather, but the high water had already become a factor by then.

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