SOUTH PARIS, Maine (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- Three kitchens at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School are closed because of an issue with mice.
According to district superintendent, Richard Colpitts, a mouse in a trap along with droppings was discovered by a state health inspector on Thursday in the school's culinary arts kitchen. The inspector returned the next day to find more mice droppings in the school's main kitchen and snack shop kitchen that is operated by culinary students.
"Is not something that we're pleased with and in fact we have a pest managment control system in place that many other school districts that are smaller do not have," said Colpitts.
According to Colpitts, there was evidence of a mouse having been into some packaged good. He says no food served to students was contaminated by mice, or droppings. Until the kitchens are cleared to reopen, food for the high school is being prepared at the middle school.
"It's a headache in that you don't want the public to believe that that you have an unsanitary situation for serving food and we don't believe that we do and our response, we think, has been very transparent and direct and we certainly are working closely with the state," said Colpitts.
The Superintendent says a state health inspector has been at the school everyday helping with the clean up. He expects the school's main kitchen to reopen next week.