Schools, city offices closed

Published 7:13 am Thursday, November 12, 2009

Editor’s note: The latest closing news will be listed at the bottom of this story.

High winds and heavy rains throughout Suffolk Thursday has led to the closings of all city offices and schools.

At around 5 a.m., school officials made the decision to close all schools due to the treacherous road and travel conditions school buses would have faced.

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School spokesperson Bethanne Bradshaw said that none of the system’s personnel would report Thursday and any decision on when – or if – the missed day would be made up had not been made.

“Our main concern were the roads,” Bradshaw said. “We do have some buildings that are in low-lying areas, but that was not our main concern. We will keep an eye on those throughout the day.”

Nansemond Suffolk Academy has also closed, but some faculty will be on hand.

City spokesperson Debbie George said only “Alpha personnel” were being asked to report to work Thursday, leaving all city offices closed.

George said crews are dealing with high water throughout the city, and cited particular areas along Nansemond Parkway, Shoulders Hill Road, Pitchkettle Road and the 1300 block of Holland Road, among others.

George did announce the closures of portions of North Main Street, East Constance Road and the area around the 2200 block of Wilroy Road due to road flooding.

“We are dealing with high water throughout the city, but at this point, these are the only closures,” George said.

Isle of Wight School public information officer Katherine Goff announced just after 7 p.m. that all county elementary schools would be closed today, but that 12-month employees should report to work.

She announced that students who have already been transported to the middle schools and high schools would be released early and that parents would be notified.

Classes at the campuses of Paul D. Camp Community College and Tidewater Community College have also been called off for Thursday.

– The Suffolk Children’s Center will close today at noon. Transportation is down all day. A decision about tomorrow will be made by 6 p.m. today. Parents should call 538-2523 for information about Friday.

– The Pruden Center for Industry and Technology will be closed today. All adult education classes are closed.

– The Isle of Wight County School Board meeting and work session scheduled for 6 p.m. tonight are postponed.

– Tonight’s regularly scheduled Suffolk School Board meeting is postponed. A rescheduled date will be announced at a later time.

– All Hampton Roads Department of Motor Vehicles customer service centers are closed. They are expected to reopen Friday.

– The Southeastern Public Service Authority’s landfill, transfer stations and administrative offices will close at 1 p.m. SPSA expects all services to be open for regular hours Friday. Any changes will be updated on the Web site, www.spsa.com.