By Dylan McConnell
Content Management Editor
As the Northeast Texas Community College administration continues to tell students and faculty that the ongoing construction will not overly affect campus life, the humanities building currently sits without power. The outage was caused by construction work on the utility loop currently taking place between the humanities and the math science buildings. NTCC Director of Plant Services Tim Johnston said the power outage is expected to last throughout the evening on Tuesday and that the building could possibly remain without power for a couple of days. The college administration said classes will not be cancelled due to the electrical problems in the humanities building. Northeast Public Information Director Jodi Weber released a statement to local newspapers late Tuesday afternoon telling students that they should continue to their classrooms as scheduled and follow instructions on whether to stay or move to another classroom and or building.
Johnston said the outage was probably caused by a short in the underground power lines going into the buildings. He said the construction crew will have to rewire the areas affected in order to return power to the building. The college experienced two power outages during the day on Tuesday. The first, which affected several buildings on campus, happened around 11 a.m. and lasted for close to 30 minutes. The second outage took place later that afternoon leaving the humanities building without power.
Northeast Executive Vice-President for Instruction Dr. Ron Clinton said these types of incidences may occasionally occur as the college moves forward with the campus construction.
“We expect things during a renovation project like this, but it is just a temporary glitch,” Clinton said. “We will make sure that all the students are accommodated and the classes go on as scheduled.”