Editorial: BHS’ long hallway not safe for public

During the All-Class Alumni Reunion on Sept. 17, an elderly man dropped off two elderly women at the front door to Belleville High School. The women were both on walkers and they headed down the long hallway.
The man parked the car and then decided to use one of the wheelchairs that had been put at the entrance for those needing help. He said he didn’t lock the wheels before trying to fit into the seat and it slid out from under him and he fell backward, hitting his head on the tile.
Linda Clayton told the school board on Monday that a member of the National Honor Society, Josh Rigor, had been posted in the hallway at the entrance and he alerted the reunion committee that someone had fallen and was bleeding. She said Josh took over calling 911 and talking to dispatch to get the ambulance to the right address and location at the high school. She praised his work.
The problem is that hallway that is so long to reach the Commons where public events take place, including Monday’s school board meeting. Millie Baker, age 96, walked it on Monday and it wasn’t easy. We recall the late Jane Kovach who regularly addressed the school board and used a cane to walk slowly to the board meeting down that long hall to tell them that Wayne County RESA was wasting too much money.
The side door, which is closer to the parking lot and kept locked should be opened and used for the board meetings and the public events, not that awful long hallway. It’s dangerous.