Owego Students Return To West Corners

Bob Joseph/WNBF News [file][/caption]Owego Elementary School students started classes for the new school year in a neighboring county as construction continues on a new school building.

The students once again are taking a long bus ride in the morning and afternoon to an old Union-Endicott School District building in West Corners.

Bob Joseph/WNBF News [file][/caption]Owego Apalachin school superintendent William Russell says plenty of progress has been made in constructing the new elementary school on the site of the former school that was wrecked by flooding that started on opening day of the school year in 2011.

Russell says the new structure is "rising very rapidly" with all of the steel in place. The roof and walls are being installed so the building can be closed up to enable crews to work on the interior throughout the winter.

Speaking on WNBF Radio's Binghamton Now program, Russell said he continues to hope the new facility would be ready for use by the start of the next school year. But, he said, the construction managers and contractors now are indicating the opening more likely will occur later in the fall.

Russell said the delay isn't a result of any problems with the project. He said it's because "it's a large and complex building."

The superintendent said it seems likely the opening of the school may occur in November 2015.