2 water stations installed

By Sidney Bartee

Over the summer, two new water stations were installed at Albany schools.

The stations are located in the elementary school cafeteria and in the main gym lobby at the high school.

According to nurse Lisa Russell, members of the School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) conducted a fundraiser at the end of the 2020-2021 school year, which included a dunk tank, and in addition to those proceeds, several private donations were made to fund the purchase of the stations.

Each station includes a spot to refill water bottles and a water fountain for students to use. 

The equipment also includes an automatic counter that shows how many plastic water bottles students have saved.

“We are encouraging students to bring water bottles so they can use the stations more and don’t have to waste plastic bottles,” Russell said. “So far, the stations have saved thousands of water bottles.”

The group hopes to maybe add more stations in the future.

“We originally wanted to put stations in both the gym and cafeteria at the elementary campus, but the two areas are in close proximity, so this will work for now.” Russell said. “The elementary gym is a possible future location.”