Bentonville Public Library flooded
Posted on Saturday, November 10, 2007
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/55559/
BENTONVILLE — After a dust mop fell on a faucet in the Bentonville Public Library late Tuesday night, hundreds of gallons of water circulated their way to the Wal-Mart Community Room, causing a bit of a stir.
“ We had a little bit of an accident, ” Library Director Hadi Dudley said at noon Friday, as fans continued to blow in an attempt to dry out the soaked carpets in the Wal-Mart Community Room.
It all began when a heavy dust mop fell from its hanging place amid its mop-andbroom mates in the custodian’s closet, Dudley said. Sometime after the library closed at 8 p. m. Tuesday, the dust mop fell and hit the closet sink, turning on a faucet.
Library employees opened the building Wednesday morning to find the large meeting room, the custodial closet and a portion of the library coffee shop flooded.
With the assistance of a crew from the city Parks and Recreation Department, approximately 600 gallons of water were pumped from the community room Wednesday, Dudley said. “ We’re in recovery phase right now, ” she said.
“ We were afraid we were going to have to get out the paddles and the boats, ” Dudley joked. But with the restoration efforts, the carpets have dried, and with the exception of some minor repairs and woodwork, “ we feel like it’s going to be fine, ” she said.
The Rogers Firefighters ’ graduation ceremony had to be moved because of the event. Dudley said the community room should be back to normal by Tuesday morning.
“ It was pretty devastating, ” Dudley said. “ But it could have been a lot worse. It could have been something on a long weekend when we were all gone, but we’re pleased that it was just water cleanup. ”