As with most very small towns, the high school in Glide is a very important part of our community (there are only 700 students in the whole Glide school district). This summer extensive renovations have been underway and a new library/media center are being constructed and most of the other buildings are having long-needed renovations. The buildings were built in 1953 and except for necessary maintenance have not been updated at all since the 70's.
Anyway, soon after the announcement about the fire the cell phone network took effect and we learned that the library was gone, the home ec and science classrooms were gone, and the main office and gym were threatened.
Fire personnel from all over Douglas County were called in to battle the blaze and help control the spread of the fire. At one point I counted 16 firetrucks lining the highway in front of the high school.
I was able to get some pictures, and I will post when I upload them, but are some from the Roseburg News-Review.
The part of the building on the left is the library. The windows on the right are the main office which hopefully was spared. At this point the Gym also was saved. I am sure that there will definitely be smoke and water damage to both areas.
Although none of my own kids are high school age yet, the kids I teach are. This will have a huge effect on these students and the community as a whole. It is a shame that just as the buildings and facilities are getting much needed updates and renovations, it will all be somewhat set back by this fire and its impact. My son, who definitely takes after his mother, when told about the loss of the library, cried. Truly he did. As a voracious reader and book lover he understands that the loss of the library is HUGE .And even though there is insurance, and things can be replaced and rebuilt, there are only 55 days until school starts again, the district will have to make some creative arrangements and move pretty fast so that the impact on students can be minimized.
2 comments:
I'm sorry to hear about the fire Tracy. Like you said, hopefully the community will find a way to make do for the start of the upcoming school year. I haven't experienced anything like that myself, but it brings to mind the flooding of the schools in Vernonia this last winter and how they had to bus the kids to other communities until they could clean up and make repairs. My thoughts go out to you and your community. Please keep us updated.
That is awful to hear about your school. It broke my heart to read that your son cried about the library.
Please do keep us updated. My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your community. Big Hugs.
Sue from 2 peas
Post a Comment