L’stormy episode Occurring late in the afternoon, Tuesday August 13 was very brief, barely half an hour, but in terms of the damage suffered the consequences are still visible, two months later. One of the two rooms of the Antoine-Jacquet gymnasium, in the heart of the Saint-Exupéry school campus of Valserhôneis one of the “victims”.
Rain… in the gym!
The flat roof poorly withstood the impact of the hailstones and damaged its waterproofing. But the after-effects were finally belatedly visible to users: the handball club, badminton club and especially the two establishments of the Saint-Ex middle school and high school.
« It was discovered that the gymnasium was taking on water the week after the start of school, on a day when it was raining, says a physical and sports education (PE) teacher from Saint-Exupéry college. The infiltrations were such that it was literally raining inside! As a result, the structure is unusable, especially since it posed safety problems with the electrical installations.. We do not have access to the gym. »
PE teachers adapt
Teachers can put up to three classes in the gymnasium. Since the damage was noticed, they have organized themselves as best they can. “ It still bothers us quite a bit in our organization, admits our interlocutor. Afterwards, we manage. If the weather is favorable we go at the Gérard-Armand stadium or we use the synthetic field, opposite the gymnasium. » Concerning the two other associations, the Bellegarde handball club was temporarily relocated to the former premises of the Tennis club, opposite Porret’s, while the badminton club chose to wait until the renovation of the gymnasium.
Work in progress
Work has also been underway since Monday September 30. And according to the City of Valserhône, they should not last long. “ We were able to find a solution thanks to the know-how of a company based in Montréal-La-Cluse, whose specialty is flat roof waterproofing, indicates Mourad Bellammou, municipal councilor responsible for built heritage of Valserhône. According to the estimates that have been made, we should have enough for 15 days of work in total, knowing that it will be necessary to add a week of drying. Une membrane EPDM (a specific coating, Editor’s note) is being asked. It will allow the roof to have much better resistance in the event of future hail storms..»
Consequently, and barring unforeseen circumstances, the damaged part of the Jacquet gymnasium should be rehabilitated and operational at the start of the All Saints’ Day school year. Let us also remember that PE classes in Valserhône schools, schools, middle schools and high schools could soon be held at the sports plain, since the deadline for the start of the All Saints’ school year had also been mentioned by Régis Petit, mayor of the city.
