The Dab Crossing

Days after breaking ground following a five-year wait, construction on the future Brockton High School is on hold again.

  The Hubbard County Environmental Services Department has temporarily suspended the town's building permit after workers found the entire construction site covered with dabs on Tuesday morning.

  "As I got out of the truck, I heard this real loud noise. I thought someone was running a chainsaw or something," said Tom Shepherd, who is working on building the new high school. "I get up there and the whole place, just covered with these little creatures."

  An estimated 200 dabs were found on or around the construction site this morning. The site was cleared within a few hours, but construction was shut down at 2pm, pending an investigation by the Environmental Services Department.

  "I don't know what to make of it," Brockton School Superintendant Phil Cartwright said. "We've taken all necessary precautions to limit the impact on the area's wildlife."

  It's yet another setback for the long-delayed project. First proposed in 2003, a millage was passed in 2007, with construction ready to begin in 2008. The recession caused the school board to delay the plan, before finally re-approving it in 2012.

  It's unclear at this point how long the delay will last. Cartwright was optimistic that construction would resume shortly.

  "I think this was just some kind of a fluke thing. Maybe [the dabs] were attracted to the noise of the construction. I don't foresee the [Environmental Services] Department revoking our permit."

  The Environmental Services Department declined to comment on the state of the permit review or the investigation into the incident.