Oct. 29, 2019 10:20a
(WGTD)---Some Gateway students who are planning to dedicate their professional lives to the welfare of animals suffered a bit of setback in recent weeks, all because of, ironically, some beavers.
While the students were hard at work in Gateway’s Elkhorn-based veterinary technician program, the furry rodents, it turned out, were busy plugging up an 18-inch storm sewer that acted as a drain for three retention ponds on campus.
When the heavy rains hit in early October, the water backed up, fully-saturating the ground surrounding the small, low-lying building where the program is taught.
For several days, water seeped in unimpeded through the building’s foundation. Although no more than a couple of inches covered the floor at any one time, the carpet, dry wall and some equipment were damaged.
While the repair process continues, students and staff are working out of temporary quarters, made even more difficult because of the stiff requirements that are in place for working with live animals.
Vet program head Dr. Susan Guttschow reports in an email that students and staff alike are stressed and frustrated, and will be scrambling in the weeks ahead to make up lost time in the live animal labs.
Since its inception in 2015, the popular program has been at or above its 15-seat capacity.
As the program works to recover from the flood, efforts are underway on multiple fronts to avoid a repeat, according to Tom Cousino, Associate Vice-President of Facilities and Security. With the help of the school’s welding department, some structural improvements were made to the campus drainage system. The vet tech building’s foundation is being water-proofed.
And if a trapping operation is successful, those pesky beavers may soon have a new home, far, far away.
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