Halifax — Dropping off or picking up your child from Oceanview Elementary School in Eastern Passage, N.S., isn’t an easy job. That’s because the sidewalk leading to the school and the parking lot are completely covered in ice.
People need to move slowly and carefully across the lot to avoid slipping. Parents say there has been a number of kids who have been injured in the past month on the property, including one who broke her arm. Some adults have also gotten hurt at the school.
Jamye Paisley was picking his daughter up after class when he fell, “Basically I was walking, my feet went right out, and I hit head first on the ice and ended up with a mild concussion, and six stitches in the back of my head,” he tells Global News.
Some parents are so fed up with the school property, they are taking it upon themselves to try and fix the situation. They have spent twelve hours already this week chipping away at ice that’s more than six inches thick in some spots.
Many parents don’t understand how nearby schools can be clear of ice, but not Oceanview Elementary, and have filed complaints with the school board.
“I have called, I never, ever got a response back,” Dominique Surette-Lombard says, “I know other people have called, and they’ve heard, one example was, well we never knew it was an issue, and somebody else will call and they’ll be told we knew it was issue, we’re going to send somebody out to assess it.”
The Halifax Regional School Board says they’ve been hearing a number of complaints about schools in the municipality lately.
“The problem with all the schools in Eastern Passage is that the ice build up has been so much that you can’t just move it with regular equipment,” spokesperson Doug Hadley says.
With close calls happening every day, Surette-Lombard says it’s only a matter of time before somebody is seriously injured at the school, which is why she is spending her time trying to clear the lot.
“It’s really sad that I had to even take the initiative to start, like I said, I’m thankful to the people who have come out to help, but it shouldn’t be our responsibility, but I had to take it upon myself because I’m scared somebody’s gonna die.”
The Halifax Regional School Board tells Global News the contractor for the area doesn’t own the heavy equipment needed to clear the ice from the property. The board says it’s a constant battle to keep up with clearing ice from the school, and will have an excavator at the school Thursday evening to clear the ice away from the parking lot and the sidewalk near the school.
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