Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-03
ROOF OF PORTABLE
SCHOOL DAMAGED
Wesley Heights Structure Hit
by StOrm-Some Pupils Dis
missed for Safety.

The windstorm which ragged last
night took its usual toll from the por-
table buildings when it tore of a sec
ton of the roof of one of the four
portables in Wesley Heights. The h.AtId-
ing adjoining the damaged structure Is
one in which Betty Ballou, daughter Of
DR.. Frank w. Ballou. superintendent of
schools, attends the Sixth-grade class.
A sector of the south end of the
most westerly of the Wesley Heights
group of four portables was ripped of
and hurled to the ground some distance
away. The damage probably was done,
schools officials are convinced, after the
rain had ceased falling, for the wall
board of the one-room structure was
dry.
The pupils of the building were
housed for the first two hours of today
in the other portables of the group, but
by IL o'clock, at which time the wind
increased, Robert L. Haycock, assistant
superintendent. ordered dismissal for
the rest of the day of all the pupils
quartered in that group.
Check-up Is Made.
Meanwhile a city-wide check-up was
made on the IS portables in use, and
all were reported unchanged by the
wind. The pupils in the Kalmia road
portable, at Fourteenth street, were or
dered dismissed. however, until O'Clock,
when DR.. E. G.. Kimball, supervising
principal, and his field principals agreed
llpon the dismissal as a safety measure.
They reported. however, that neither OF
the two buildings showed signs Of weak
ening.
AS soon as the damage to the Wesley
Heights portable was discovered Mr..
he 1fcfT
shop and by 8 o'clock workmen from
that department were making repairs.
The building probably will be in use
again tomorrow.
OF the rs portables now being used
by the schools go are 10 years old, hav-
ing been purchased in 1919. The re-
manning IS have been in use at various
localities since 1909. Stephen E.
Kramer, first assistant superintendent,
expressed concern over the regularity
with which windstorms exact damage
from the f1insy structures. He de-
cIared, too, that his feeling IS enter
tanned by officers throughout the school
system.
Can Use Discretion.
When the last storm visited Washing
ton and damaged two of the portables
DR.. Ballou issued orders to every super
viSing principal in the system to excuse
their classes if in their opinions they
were endangered during storms. Mr..
Kramer, Mr.. Haycock and the field ofh-
GERS lost no time today in exercising
that discretion. although the only two
groups of portable classes which were
dismissed were those in Wesley Heights
and Kalmia road.
School officials said today that pend
ing permanent school building con-
struction, which is scheduled to be COM
pleted by next February, they will re-
move 10 of the portables from use at
their present localities. This, however,
does not mean that that number Of the
frame and composition board structures
will be permanently eliminated from
further use, for already there is a list
of applications for portable groups in
outlying sections which even now can
not be filled by the authorities with
the existing number Of portables. TheN
10 which will be taken out of service
at their present stations follow:
Four at the Grant road site, two at
the Petworth School. one at the Ia
kona School, five at the Park View
School, one each at the Maury and
Kingsman Schools, two at the Orr
School, three at the Phillips School
and two at Burrville.