Post by Rock on Feb 9, 2006 18:11:21 GMT -5
Endangered Ozark snail helps cash-strapped school
MARCUS KABEL Associated Press
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - An endangered Ozark cave snail saved a cash-strapped rural school from near-bankruptcy, allowing the public school to raise funds for repairs that otherwise would have wiped out its entire budget reserve, school and state officials said Thursday.
Mark Twain School near the small town of Protem in Taney County was facing a $90,000 bill to replace an antiquated sewer system that was condemned in October 2004 for leaking into the nearby water supply.
"We are a small school without many resources. Our entire reserve is $90,000," school superintendent Richard Needham said.
State conservation officials realized drainage from the school fed into a nearby cavern that is the only habitat of the Tumbling Creek cavesnail (Antrobia culveri), designated a federally endangered species in August 2002 because of declining water quality.
Department of Conservation staff members Larry Martien and Justin Pepper secured a grant of $20,000 in federal wildlife funds to replace the sewage system, based on the argument that it would help the recovery of the snail by improving water quality, Martien said.
That grant helped mobilize other public and private donations that totaled $89,000, paving the way for groundbreaking on the new sewer system on Feb. 17, Needham said.
"I can't say we would have closed, but we would have lost all flexibility," he said. The reserve funds have paid for such recent items as roof repairs and a new school bus.
Mark Twain School has 75 students in classes from preschool through eighth grade.
www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/state/13832968.htm
MARCUS KABEL Associated Press
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - An endangered Ozark cave snail saved a cash-strapped rural school from near-bankruptcy, allowing the public school to raise funds for repairs that otherwise would have wiped out its entire budget reserve, school and state officials said Thursday.
Mark Twain School near the small town of Protem in Taney County was facing a $90,000 bill to replace an antiquated sewer system that was condemned in October 2004 for leaking into the nearby water supply.
"We are a small school without many resources. Our entire reserve is $90,000," school superintendent Richard Needham said.
State conservation officials realized drainage from the school fed into a nearby cavern that is the only habitat of the Tumbling Creek cavesnail (Antrobia culveri), designated a federally endangered species in August 2002 because of declining water quality.
Department of Conservation staff members Larry Martien and Justin Pepper secured a grant of $20,000 in federal wildlife funds to replace the sewage system, based on the argument that it would help the recovery of the snail by improving water quality, Martien said.
That grant helped mobilize other public and private donations that totaled $89,000, paving the way for groundbreaking on the new sewer system on Feb. 17, Needham said.
"I can't say we would have closed, but we would have lost all flexibility," he said. The reserve funds have paid for such recent items as roof repairs and a new school bus.
Mark Twain School has 75 students in classes from preschool through eighth grade.
www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/state/13832968.htm