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Letter to the Editor: County manager to address South Wilkes-Barre Residents’ Association

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West Pittston Police request assistance in locating suspect alleged to have stolen lawn mower

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; As workers strip asbestos from Coughlin High School, they are discovering what lies beneath: A sealed stairwell, possible evidence of a long-lost skylight and enough hidden steel to build a small bridge.</p><p>A contractor completed asbestos removal of the auditorium last week, and air quality tests cleared the way to let unprotected visitors enter the room Monday for the first time in more than a month. The school board continues to move forward with plans to demolish the building and replace it with a larger high school that will house grades 9-12 from both Coughlin and Meyers high schools.</p><p>With walls stripped to brick and the floor ripped down to plywood, the room looked cavernous and industrial. The steel and concrete infrastructure that make up the ceiling and balcony were fully exposed.</p><p>The stairwell was unearthed as worker ripped into wall coverings in hunt for hidden asbestos. It&#8217;s at an entrance on the Union Street side of the century-old structure. Workers pulled the wall down to discover a passageway heading to the basement.</p><p>That side was also sealed off with a wall erected as part of a classroom. The sealed path down was more ramp than stairs, suggesting it served as answer to a nagging question: How did all the heavy equipment in the basement get there.</p><p>&#8220;They probably used this to get it downstairs,&#8221; said Gary Salijko, from the district&#8217;s construction management firm Apollo Inc., during an update tour of the area.</p><p>The plan is to use the auditorium as dumping/storage site for anything pulled out from the rest of the school, eventually to be hauled away or salvaged if possible.</p><p>To that end, the wall above the stage has been knocked down, giving a gaping view of a third floor corridor, which in turn sports a large hole in the ceiling. Fourth-floor debris will be dumped through the hole, then into the auditorium. The stage front itself is sealed completely with plastic sheeting.</p><p>Removing the wall above the stage exposed a large metal truss that spans the proscenium. Finding such hidden steel, Salijko said, will influence the final cost of demolition. Whoever knocks down the building will figure salvage value into the price; the more that can be salvaged and resold, the lower the cost could be.</p><p>Stripping the walls to brick exposed windows apparently sealed decades ago on the auditorium sides. It also revealed a large, rectangular section of the ceiling made of wood, unlike surrounding concrete.</p><p>The location and shape of the wooden ceiling section &#8212; in front of the stage, directly over the main orchestra seating, and at the very top of the building &#8212; suggests that, at one time, Coughlin may have sported a skylight or even stained-glass ceiling, Salijko said.</p><p><a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/541039/inside-scenes-of-abatement-work-at-coughlin-high-school" target="_blank">Asbestos removal should be done</a> by October, Salijko said, but demolition can&#8217;t begin until the district finds a home for juniors and seniors who were attending classes in the newer annex since the start of January.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_TTL062816coughlin2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The exposed ceiling of the auditorium in Coughlin High School is mostly steel and concrete, but sports a flat rectangle made of wood, which workers speculate may have been a skylight or made of stained glass. Removing the wall above the stage exposed a steel truss seen in the lower half of the photo. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_TTL062816coughlin2.jpg</photo0><caption0>The exposed ceiling of the auditorium in Coughlin High School is mostly steel and concrete, but sports a flat rectangle made of wood, which workers speculate may have been a skylight or made of stained glass. Removing the wall above the stage exposed a steel truss seen in the lower half of the photo. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_TTL062816coughlin1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Gary Salijko, from the Wilkes-Barre Area School district&#8217;s contracted project management firm Apollo Inc., stands on Monday, June 27, 2016 in the Coughlin High School auditorium, stripped bare during asbestos abatment. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_TTL062816coughlin1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Gary Salijko, from the Wilkes-Barre Area School district&#8217;s contracted project management firm Apollo Inc., stands on Monday, June 27, 2016 in the Coughlin High School auditorium, stripped bare during asbestos abatment. </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Asbestos removal reveals hidden parts of Coughlin High School