Vandals turn on faucet, flood eastern Iowa high school

EPWORTH, Iowa (AP) - Classes were cancelled at an eastern Iowa high school after vandals broke into the building and turned on a water faucet, flooding part of the school.

The break-in at Western Dubuque High School in Epworth happened over the weekend but wasn't discovered until Monday morning.

By then, Superintendent Jeff Corkery told the Telegraph Herald (http://bit.ly/1JWTvSJ ), there was 1 to 2 inches of water in about a dozen classrooms.

Crews worked to dry out the school and prepare the school for the students, who returned on Tuesday.

"We have two classrooms that may not be ready (today)," Principal Dave Hoeger told the newspaper late Monday afternoon. "We've got fans and dehumidifiers running, and will continue to run them tonight."

Corkery says there was thousands of dollars in damage plus additional costs for the cleanup. The situation could have been worse, but much of the flooded area is cement. Even in those areas, carpet, wood desks and books were waterlogged.

Some of the damage remains unclear, such as computers that had cables submerged by the water.

"We don't know if they were damaged or not," Hoeger said.

The vandals apparently entered the school by breaking out a window in a classroom. The Dubuque County Sheriff's Department is investigating the incident.

Corkery said the district hasn't decided how students will make up the lost day.

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Information from: Telegraph Herald, http://www.thonline.com