WOODS CROSS—The principal of Woods Cross Elementary and the crossing guard supervisor received accolades from the police department and city council for their quick response to a gas leak near the school last month. 

“A contractor was installing a waterline for the city and hit a gas line at 1500 S. 675 West,” said Woods Cross Public Works Director Sam Christiansen. “They couldn’t easily fix it because it was an older section so it took two to three and a half hours to repair.” 

The school crossing was closed to all traffic, he said. “The crossing guards working that area made sure the kids were safe. The principal went above and beyond. He got a bus and rode with the kids because most of the kids don’t use a bus.”

Stephanie (Olsen) is a crossing guard supervisor and an assistant in special education here, said Principal Buck Ekstrom. “When she heard the news she came in and said ‘hey there’s a gas leak, so I’m changing the crossing guards in that area.’”

There are a lot of students who walk on 1500 South and under the overpass to the Springwood Apartments, etc., he said. “We needed to find a way to get them home safely. They couldn’t go to 500 South so we called (district) transportation and told them we needed a bus. They said, ‘OK, we’ll send one over.’” 

Ekstrom said he decided to ride with them and make sure they got to where they needed to go. “They’re used to walking so I thought it might be confusing. I asked the secretary to find the kids that live there. There’s about 15 to 20 kids. I explained there was a gas leak but there was no danger or fire. Kids are resilient. They just rolled with it and said ‘OK.’”

“My boss, Assistant Police Chief Adam Osoro called and told me there was a gas leak at the crossing on 1500 S. 675 West and it was closed down and unsafe for the kids to cross there,” said Olsen. “There’s a group of kids that live east of I-15, 1500 South is the only way for them to get home. I got the call about 2:30-2:45 p.m. and school gets out at 3:25. We were concerned that it might be too short of notice for parents to get there and pick their kids up so the bus would be best.”

Olsen has been a crossing guard for 28 years. “I live here and work at the school,” she said. “I know how crossing works and how the school works. I’m out there doing my job and making sure the kids get to school as safely as possible.”  λ