Power outage closes Baggaley Elementary Wednesday

Sep. 29—A power outage forced the closure of Baggaley Elementary School in Unity on Wednesday.

The school experienced a partial outage overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, which caused the utility company to "de-energize the power line and knock out power to the entire building" just before 7 a.m., according to Mike Porembka, assistant superintendent of the Greater Latrobe School District.

Parents of Baggaley students were notified of the building closure just before the start of the school day, Porembka said, noting the district couldn't "properly provide school instruction and meals to students" under the circumstances.

Baggaley staff were shifted to Latrobe Elementary School, where they were assigned to professional development activities.

District officials weren't sure what caused the outage. Porembka said there was no related damage at the school.

Work to fix the problem stretched into the late morning, and power was restored at 2 p.m. Wednesday, he said.

The district's other schools weren't affected.

Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff at 724-836-6622, jhimler@triblive.com or via Twitter .