September 5th, 2005

Work at North Junior High School has come to a standstill after small amounts of asbestos were found in the ceiling plaster after contractors had drilled into it.

The work being carried out included remodelling work and wiring for computers. As soon as the discovery was made all work was brought to a standstill at both North Junior High School and South Junior High School for safety reasons.

"We have no evidence that the same problem exists at South Junior High School," said the school district superintendent, "but since the two schools were built around the same time, we're assuming similar materials were used."

North Junior will now remain closed until asbestos abatement has been carried out by professionals. Tests have been carried out at South Junior, and a decision will be made with regards to the next step to be taken with the school. A spokesperson stated that the asbestos found at North Junior was in the original ceiling plaster above the dropped ceilings.