RUMFORD — For the second straight night, basketball games scheduled for Puiia Gymnasium at Mountain Valley High School were moved to neighboring Dirigo High School in Dixfield because of a leaking roof.
Both Wednesday’s games between the Mountain Valley and Dirigo boys’ junior varsity teams and Thursday’s girls’ doubleheader were relocated.
Mountain Valley coach Ryan Casey said the problem is not confined to the gymnasium.
He did not know how long the teams might be without a home.
“Right now, there are a lot of buckets to dribble around,” Casey said.
The problem first presented itself late last week, when a Mountain Valley girls’ varsity game had to be delayed in the second quarter due to the leak.
Mountain Valley hosted a large cheerleading meet Monday and a wrestling match Tuesday, but by Wednesday the gym was deemed unfit to host basketball games.
Casey said his team practiced at Puiia on Wednesday.
“We used the buckets as defenders,” he said with a smile, quickly adding, “It’s not really suitable for practice.”
School custodians have placed buckets in the rafters to catch the excess water and prevent it from falling onto the court.
“We’ll see what happens. I know they’re working hard,” Casey said. “They’re trying to keep the buckets up there so we can at least keep practicing. But honestly, I don’t know what the state of our gym is at this point.”
-
- The Mountain Valley High School basketball team had to relocate its 6 p.m. Thursday night game against Dirigo High School to Dixfield after several roof leaks bloomed throughout the day. The Mountain Valley High School staff was forced to bring in dozens of buckets and place them throughout the school to prevent the water from reaching the floor.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
