More than 1,200 students were displaced Thursday as classes at Vicksburg and Warren Central junior high schools were delayed because a train took down a power line near the schools.

The outage occurred when a passing train struck a power line crossing the Kansas City Railroad tracks at Baldwin Ferry Road, Entergy spokeswoman Tammy Rankin said. According to Entergy’s website, the power outage was reported at about 1:05 a.m. and includes both junior high schools and the scholastic academy among 235 customers between Cherry Street and Mission 66.

The 1,236 students enrolled in the junior high schools were diverted to Vicksburg and Warren Central high schools because power had not been restored by the time class was scheduled to begin.

“The transition plan is going well,” superintendent Chad Shealy said. “Administrators have done a good job of organizing the students as they arrive.”

A statement put out by the Vicksburg Warren School District on its website said: “Car riders may be dropped off at their junior high school, then they will be transported by bus to the high school or parents will be directed to take students to the appropriate high school. Once power is restored and temperatures are back to a safe level, students will then be transported back to their junior high schools.”

The school district started making emergency plans at about 5:45 a.m., and by 6 a.m. they had notified media outlets.

District 3 trustee Jim Stirgus Jr. told Port City Kiwanis this morning that students were expected to be back in their junior high school classrooms by this afternoon, allowing time for the building to warm up.

The temperature at 8 a.m. was 17, and the high today is expected to rise to just above freezing, according to the National Weather Service.

 

— Staff reporters Cory Gunkel and Josh Edwards contributed to this story.