School closures continue Thursday

Thursday morning update: Kingsport City Schools and Johnson City Schools are closed Thursday, both systems have announced, as snow continues to hit the Tri-Cities, Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. In addition, the Sullivan County Schools work session and voting meeting scheduled for Thursday are canceled. Sullivan County Director of Schools Chuck Carter said Thursday morning via phone the rescheduled date and time will be determined and announced later. However, a community input session at the Lynn View Community Center, 257 Walker St., the former Lynn View High School, is still set for 6-7:30 p.m. in the cafeteria of that facility, according to Kingsport City Schools Assistant Superintendent of Administration Andy True. The city and KCS are jointly holding that "walk-in" session. The Tennessee Highway Patrol early Thursday morning reported that Interstate 81 near Exit 67, were closed because of a multi-vehicle pileup shortly after midnight that wasn't cleared until about 5 a.m. Secondary roads and side streets were covered with ice and snow as folks headed into work, but the interstates and U.S. Highway 11W were clear or mostly clear. The Gray area got an inch or two of snow, with Kingsport getting slightly less. For a look at Interstate 26 shortly before 8 a.m., go to the Kingsport Times News Instagram or Facebook pages to view two vertical video reels, as well as two more reels of the same section going from Kingsport toward Gray Wednesday night about 10 p.m. Wednesday night update: KINGSPORT — Some area students in elementary, middle and high schools will have more snow or inclement days off this week, with two area school systems calling off school for the rest of a week that included a record low of -8 degrees Monday. Area schools continue to be closed or on delayed schedules because of lingering snow and ice accumulations and the prediction of more snow possible Wednesday night or Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service forecast. By 9 p.m., snow flurries were falling in Kingsport. Earlier in the day, two Kingsport school buses hit icy spots on roads and stopped until school system employees could help them safely move, according to a KCS spokesman. In Tennessee, Hawkins County Schools and Rogersville City School will be closed the rest of the week, Thursday and Friday, while Scott County (Virginia) Schools are to be closed Thursday. Sullivan County, Bristol Tennessee Schools and Washington County (Tennessee) Schools are to be on a two-hour delay Thursday. Johnson City Schools, in an area that got more snow than the Kingsport area, was closed Wednesday but had announced no schedule changes for Thursday as of 9 p.m. Wednesday. In Sullivan County, the Board of Education will hold a work session 4:30 p.m. Thursday followed by the voting meeting an hour earlier than normal at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Normally, the regular meeting is two hours after the work session. Kingsport City Schools operated on a delay Wednesday and Wednesday evening announced on its website a two-hour delay for Thursday. Assistant Superintendent of Administration Andy True said any further changes would be announced in messages to parents and online at www.k12k.com/. Regardless of the weather, KCS students won't be in session Friday because of previously scheduled parent-teacher conferences. In a city education-related meeting, KCS and the City of Kingsport Thursday were still scheduled to host a community information and feedback session regarding the new KCS elementary school to be constructed on the current Lynn View Community Center site, the former Lynn View High School The information and feedback session will take place in the community center cafeteria, 257 Walker St., 6-7:30 p.m. According to a news release from KCS, the community session will allow for community members to speak directly with representatives from KCS and the city on three major design aspects: 1) Design philosophy, details and operational functionality of the proposed school building; 2) Site development, including road improvements, infrastructure and utilities; 3) Grounds/Recreation, including potential design features such as playfields and walking path on the property surrounding the school building. As an aside, True confirmed Wednesday evening that two KCS buses earlier in the day hit icy patches, one near Adams Elementary School and the other on Abilene Drive between Skyland Drive and Cooks Valley Road. However, he said the bus drivers stopped after losing traction, no students or adults were injured and the buses got on their ways. "They stopped so we could get them help," True said. He said no wreckers or tow trucks were involved in the incidents. KCS Superintendent Chris Hampton said at the Tuesday KCS Board of Education meeting that that no public schools were open in Tennessee Monday, and only one, on a delay, was open Tuesday. The region and much of the Southeast and the United States was hit with snow and plunging temperatures during the week, with the National Weather Service reporting a Tri-Cities Airport a record low of -8 degrees Fahrenheit Monday morning, Feb. 2.