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Bats return to school in Merrimack

By ADAM URQUHART - Staff Writer | May 11, 2018

MERRIMACK – After wrapping up their $600,000 remediation efforts for cleaning up bat feces, official recently discovered two bats inside James Mastricola Upper Elementary School. Students have been occupying the previously affected classrooms for about a month, following repair work.

In November 2017, a teacher reported a foul odor in a classroom, where bat feces was found in a cavity between the exterior brick wall and the inside block. Since that discovery, students from eight classrooms were relocated to other classrooms while the remediation efforts stretched on for months.

Principal Marsha McGill said students returned to their classroom in the first couple weeks of April after the original cleanup was completed. However, on Tuesday a bat was found in a classroom, and second was found in a lab where no one was at the time.

“In the classroom of students, the teacher immediately got the students out, closed the door, called maintenance and they came up, and got back and called the remediation company (Critter Control), who dealt with our problem earlier in the year,” McGill said.

However, kids are still able to use that classroom despite briefly being displaced by the creature. She said Critter Control is doing sealing work on the building in-between the brick wall and the metal coming up over the roof.

“They’re sealing it and putting an adhesive type sealant in there so there’s no little spaces that bats can get up and into. They’re also putting in one-way valves that bats go out and can’t come back in,” McGill said.

According to news outlets, indications are that to install those one-way valves, or special tubes, in all district schools will run around $60,000.

McGill said the crew comes in to do work at night and that they should have the roof done over the weekend. She sent a note home to parents letting them know about the situation, and said if parents have any questions they can call 603-424-6221.

Adam Urquhart can be reached at 594-1206 or aurquhart@nashuatelegraph.com.

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