PHOTO BY JIM LOWE A Lampasas Fire Department ladder truck sits outside the front entrance of Hanna Springs Intermediate School on Sunday afternoon, as fire, police and school officials converge on the scene to assess damage. Earlier, two juveniles were apprehended after a vandalism spree. Vandalism at Hanna Springs Intermediate School on Sunday forced the closure of the campus Monday and the re-routing of students to two other local campuses.

In the meantime, cleanup operations, which were expected to cost several thousand dollars, continued at the school located at 604 East Avenue F.

Two male juveniles -- ages 11 and 13 -- were taken into police custody late Sunday afternoon. At press time Monday, they were scheduled for a hearing with the Lampasas County Juvenile Probation Office.

Earlier, the youths -- both local students -- were released to their parents for medical attention, Assistant Chief of Police Sammy Bailey said.

The juveniles had breathed in dust from dry-powder fire extinguishers, which they discharged in hallways and several classrooms during the vandalism spree. In all, 10 fire extinguishers were used.

Authorities received a call Sunday at 4:30 p.m. During the incident, a fire alarm activated, and within a short time, school, fire and police officials rushed to the campus.

When Assistant Principal Russell Merket arrived, the two male subjects came out of the building, and Merket detained them.

It is believed the juveniles broke a window at the school the night before and then gained entry the next day through the window, Ms. Bailey said.

One particularly hard-hit area, it appeared, was the eastern lower story of the sprawling school facility, where powder was thick on the floor. The corridors lay in a thickened haze from the powdery substance.

"The school will have to do a major cleanup," said Lampasas Fire Chief Terry Lindsey late Sunday afternoon, as he stood near a long ladder truck parked in front of the building.

Three fire units and 12 firemen converged on the scene. A fan was placed near the front door of the building to improve the ventilation inside.

Patrol Cpl. Jase Herring of the Lampasas Police Department said of the two male subjects: "They caused a lot of damage in there."

Of the juveniles, Lindsey said, "They can't deny it, because they have it (powder from the extinguishers) all over them."

School administrators later decided to close the campus Monday and re-route third- and fourthgraders to the Lampasas Middle School gymnasium. Fifth- and sixth-grade students were sent to Bozarth-Fowler Gymnasium at Lampasas High School.

Hanna Springs, like other campuses within the Lampasas Independent School District, was closed last Friday because of the Lampasas County Youth Livestock Show.

A six-man environmental cleanup crew out of Waco worked throughout the night after Sunday's vandalism, said Tony Peter, LISD's assistant superintendent for human resources. Because of damage, carpets at Hanna Springs were removed.

Upwards of 20 "lead" teachers, paraprofessionals, maintenance officials and central office staff worked past midnight Sunday to make adjustments in curriculum and work out logistics for the next day.

Among their concerns: serving breakfast and a hot lunch at the middle school and high school cafeterias to Hanna Springs students, adapting lesson plans for the day, and making sure there were enough paper supplies, pencils and the like on hand at the temporary locations.

"What we did is all work together to say: `We're going to have school for our kids,'" -- despite the inconvenience of the relocation Monday, Peter said.

Since the schools are mandated to do a bus evacuation drill during the school year and physical fitness testing, plans were made to include those requirements on Monday.

Peter was quick to note a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy situation. "We had good response from our Fire Department. Both the Fire Department and the Police Department have been good working with the school -- both for training and for response time," he said.

Added Peter: "I'm really grateful that we have a Fire Department and law enforcement like we do. All my dealings with them have been positive."