The flooring truth

Having been a basketball referee in Whitefish for many years and having run up and down the high school gym floor, I feel I can speak to the condition of the floor and what actually happened to the floor to damage it.

I cannot remember ever in my career having any damage of this nature to this floor. It has always been one of the nicest gyms in our division and in the state. Many of my counterparts have commented very positively on it over the years.

Last summer, I visited the school many times, since I teach there. I noticed the standing water around the entrance and asked the maintenance personnel to turn the sprinklers off since it may cause problems around the building.

Admittedly, I never thought about the water entering the gym, but it is now more than obvious that it did, and it caused a lot of damage. It was so foolish to water this area and not pay any attention to it and let it go unmanaged for days and days on end.

I know for a fact it ran for at least five days, Monday through Friday, in the week I was there, and it could have gone through the weekend and into the next week for all I know,

I've heard different tales of what everyone wanted us to think happened, but in reality many staff and administrators alike "hid" from the main issue and the real reason for the damage. I have my own ideas, but I won't disclose them publicly.

It's sad that we couldn't face this issue head on and deal with it more favorably and more honestly. We teach our students to do exactly what we ourselves are not capable of doing.

In summary, I believe everyone now knows the truth, and I for one feel much better in knowing who the honest individuals are in our administration, and whom we have to watch out for.

Irv Heitz

Whitefish