Lightning Strike Proves Expensive, for Beatrice Public Schools

BEATRICE – A devastating lightning strike at Beatrice High School apparently destroyed the phone system along with other equipment.
Monday night, the Board of Education approved a contract with Diode Communications to replace the phone system, at a cost of about $84,000.

School Superintendent Jason Alexander said the district has insurance that covers most of the loss. The district has a $25,000 deductible on its policy.
"We had a fire alarm panel that was struck.....and it was an eighty five hundred dollar panel. It was ruined. And, then we also had three other electrical panels that were ruined, that were about seven thousand a piece. And, then we also had a high frequency drive panel that controls the H-Vac system that was lost.....two heat pumps and cooling pumps on the ceiling. So, by the time we get to our deductible, that's going to cover the majority of those costs".

The damage is similar to that which happened a few years ago when lightning struck Beatrice Police Headquarters, destroying the phone system and damaging equipment at the Southeast Communications Dispatch Center.