Owego-Apalachin School District officials will be reviewing their drilling plans following a fire at the construction site of the new Owego Elementary School. A drilling rig caught fire on Monday after drilling hit a pocket of natural gas which ignited. Now officials are reviewing their plans to see if any changes need to be made before they continue drilling into the ground. The pocket of gas was struck at 300 feet beneath the ground, and after firefighters responded to the scene from multiple area departments, they decided to let the flames burn out, which took about an hour and a half. Superintendent Dr. Bill Russell says the district is reconvening with their engineers and geologists to see if any changes need to be made to their current plans before moving forward. Officials still hope to have the new building open by the start of the 2015-2016 school year.
