The bear that won’t go away

SUMMERSVILLE, W.Va. — The bear has returned to the dumpster at Zela Elementary School in Summersville.

Principal James Marsh who, with the black bear, became a social media sensation earlier this week when surveillance video showed a brief encounter between the two, said Thursday on MetroNews “Talkline” the bear was back in the dumpster overnight Wednesday even after steps were taken to keep it out.

“He has defeated our attempts so far,” Marsh said with a chuckle. “The sanitation department is trying to fabricate some steel lids instead of those plastic ones with the lock on top of it.”

Marsh said the video encounter he had with bear wasn’t the first time the animal had been at the school. Marsh said that’s why they attempted to lock the dumpster in the first place. He said the bear was never stuck.

“He was strong enough to take one paw and lift that metal bar up and he simply crawled in, he wiggled his way in,” Marsh said. “The footage from (last) weekend showed that he had done that repeatedly. I’ve had people ask me was he locked in there? No. He could come and go as he pleased.”

Another camera angle of the original encounter shows a school custodian reacting as Marsh meets face-to-face with the animal.

“She opens that door and sees that bear. She slams that door and locks me out. I tease her about it. I say, ‘You were just sacrificing your principal to save the children,'” Marsh said.

Marsh said the reaction from the video has made it a fun week at school, especially for his students. He showed them the video first before it was posted on social media.

“Once they saw that I was okay they thought it was great but maybe even more funny was the speed with which I ran. They’ve never seen me run before,” Marsh said.





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