Icy roads cause school closure

 Due to Wednesday night’s freezing rain, Trout Creek School was canceled on Thursday, Jan. 13.

After experiencing poor road conditions Wednesday evening, John Mosher of Mosher Transportation, who is contracted to run bus routes for both Trout Creek and Thompson Falls Schools, voiced his concerns via telephone with Trout Creek Supervising Teacher Daisy Barlsmith.

“I’m not kidding.” Mosher said. “Here in our parking lot where the busses are kept, it was so slick you could have ice skated on it. There wasn’t a bump on it.”

Barlsmith passed the message along to Trout Creek School Board Chairman Mike Linderman. The matter was discussed at the board meeting that night, and with students’ safety as a top priority, the decision was made to cancel school.

According to Barlsmith, this is only the second time in her seven-year tenure in Trout Creek, that school has been cancelled due to road conditions.

Although a two-hour delay was discussed, it was believed that Thursday’s forecasted cold temperatures would not improve road conditions enough to allow bus drivers and students a safe trip.

Unlike nearby schools like Thompson Falls and Plains where many students and staff live in or near town, the longer distances Trout Creek busses would have traveled made the drive an unnecessary risk.

Thompson Falls schools were forced to make an adjustment to their busses, however, as three routes were cancelled.