By James Johnson and Dashayia Murphy Staff Writers
English teacher Ron Tracy said there were many days last year when it was too cold to teach.
“Last year it was 50 degrees in the classroom when I got to school,” Tracy said. “This year it’s been warm every morning.”
That’s because operating engineer Ray Mattison has been coming to work at 3 a.m. to make sure the building is warm enough by the start of the school day.
It takes two boilers to heat the whole school, but only one is currently functioning. One of the three boilers in the building has been broken for years. Another one has been off-line since September. It may not be operating until next summer, so Cody will go through this winter with only one boiler.
“If the temperature is below zero, I have to get here at 11 p.m. to heat the school for the next day,” Mattison said.
Robert Clemons, one of only two engineers at Cody certified to run the boilers, said people take heat for granted. Cody’s heat comes from boilers that date back to 1951. They require that a certified engineer be present in the building any time the boiler is running, and often they have to be present in the boiler room because the machines aren’t automatic.
“I like older boilers, it is more spacious and old-school,” Clemons said. “But everything manual makes work harder.”
When they first arrive, the engineers fill a tank with water. There are indicators that let them know if the water levels are too low; they have to be checked often. Many parts of the machinery fail, and the engineers have to do manual bypasses to fix the problems.
“We’re one step ahead of shoveling coal,” Mattison said. “That’s how antiquated this systems is.”
Mattison doesn’t know of any plans to update the heating system in the near future.
