Damage in Hammond Hill raises concerns about student safety

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Low-hanging power lines, fallen trees and debris have raised significant safety issues for students in the Hammond Hills neighborhood - teams assessed the damage in preparation for school on Monday, the district announced.

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Aiken County Public School District s on Sunday were actively assessing the neighborhood’s conditions after concerns of students walking to school and walking to bus stops, along with school buses traveling due to low-hanging power lines and fallen trees and debris.

Last week, the district announced all schools would be delayed by two hours on Monday and Tuesday to get hurricane debris.

The district says there are no streets that are unable by school buses serving Hammond Hill Elementary School students. All regular stops will be made as planned for students attending Hammond Hill Elementary.

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There are, however, several streets serving Paul Knox Middle School students and North Augusta High School students who live in the Hammond Hills neighborhood that are not able to be accessed safely by school buses at this time. In the interim, those stops are being combined with the closest accessible stop.

Highlights:

Previous stops at Stanton Drive and Brooks Drive and Stanton Drive and Hastings Place, are being combined to one stop at Hammond Drive at Stanton Drive.
The previous stop at Medie Avenue and Indian Mound Drive will now be combined with the stop at Riverview Drive an Medie Avenue.
And the previous stops at West Woodlawn Avenue and Dunbarton Drive, 986 Campbellton Drive, and 971 Campbellton Drive, will be combined with the stop at Amherst Drive at West Woodlawn Avenue.

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Cleanup crews are already out and beginning to chip away at the massive debris project left by Hurricane Helene.

Families living in the Hammond Hills neighborhood are strongly encouraged to accompany their child on their walk to school or the bus stop, or that they arrange alternative transportation for them until the situation improves.