South Lincoln's assistant principal, Jennifer Turpen, at left, reacts as she sees the extent of the tubs and boxes of school supplies sent Tuesday, May 13, 2014, from Lawrence County, Tenn., Schools to the staff and students at South Lincoln School, which was heavily damaged in the April 28, 2014, tornadoes. (Kay Campbell/al.com)
FLINTVILLE, Tennessee - Jennifer Turpen, assistant principal of South Elementary School in southern Lincoln County, Tenn., and Mary Beth Jenkins, the school's counselor, felt like they had been holding their breath after hearing that the school had been hit by a tornado the night of April 28, 2014.
When they were allowed to go inside the building, they went straight to the place where children were sent for tornado drills -- and could breathe a sigh of huge relief: Those hallways were not damaged in the storm blast that removed about three-quarters of the school's roof.
"That was the biggest blessing," Jenkins said Tuesday, May 13, 2014, as she and Turpen waited for a bus from Lawrence County, Tenn., Schools to arrive with a bus loaded with donations for the students and staff of South. "To see where we would have had the kids. They might have been wet and probably would have been scared to death, but they would have been fine."
The tornado shelter area of the school had been identified with the help of experts from the National Weather Service, Turpen said. Knowing that is the best gift anyone can give her, but on Tuesday, Turpen and Jenkins were also happy about more gifts: a busload of school supplies to help their teachers re-stock the classrooms that had been ruined.
Big family
Turpen and Jenkins were among those waiting Tuesday in the office of Lisa Creson, the family and pupil services coordinator at Flintville Elementary School. Creson's office has become the heavily-populated work station for many of the staff from South Lincoln Elementary School as both school bodies use the Flintville building for the remaining two weeks of school.
That puts South's 673 students in classes beginning at 11:30 a.m. each day, with the school buses and parents' cars easing past the Flintville buses and cars, which are picking up the Flintville students after their morning classes. Many of the families of the Flintville students have homes that were damaged or destroyed in the tornadoes.
Lawrence County, Tenn., Schools director Dr. Bill Heath, standing at left, and Lincoln County, Tenn., Schools director Dr. Wanda Shelton, watch as students unload a bus packed with school supplies donated to the staff and students of South Lincoln Elementary School, which was heavily damaged in the April 28, 2014, tornadoes. The supplies will be stored until the beginning of the 2014-15 school year, when the school is predicted to be repaired. Lawrence County teachers held the supply drive and Heath accompanied the bus to deliver the gifts on Tuesday, May 13, 2014. (Kay Campbell / KCampbell@AL.com)
Flintville Principal David Golden stood at the end of the driveway, helping to direct traffic at the change-over time. Lincoln County Supervisor Joel Hastings stood with him.
"It's a well-oiled machine," Hastings said, complimenting Golden on the work that he, South's Principal John Fanning, and the school bus supervisor Keith Gill have done to work out transportation logistics.
Inside the school, a stack of toilet paper collected by students at Sparkman Middle School for the school and for families in need, waits on a cart. The walls of the school's entryway are covered with posters and notes from students from around the country wishing the children well. South's students greet Mr. Golden with the same enthusiasm they use for their own principal.
"I'm not sure how to say this, but if there had to be a community hit, I can't think of a place where two schools could have gotten along better," Golden said as he exchanged high-fives with in-coming students. "John Fanning and I worked together at Hazel Green High School when he was principal there, and we're both Flintville born and bred - we really are one big family."
A part of the extended family, Dr. Bill Heath, the director of Lawrence County, Tenn., Schools, who grew up nearby, arrived with a busload of school supplies. Teachers and staff in the county about 50 miles east of Lincoln County had collected the supplies for the students and teachers of South Elementary School. The supplies will be stored until August, when the school is expected to be repaired and teachers can re-stock the classrooms that had been damaged.
"We wanted to do something," Heath said. "We were watching the weather all day. I was living in Biloxi when Hurricane Katrina hit, and this brought back too many memories."
"This is like Christmas!" Jennifer Turpen exclaimed as she climbed into the bus to see the plastic tubs and boxes packed with supplies, all sorted and labeled through the coordination of Shannon Watson, the Lawrence County director of communications. "We'll never be able to thank everyone."
Donations that will be used by South Lincoln's teachers in the fall to re-stock their classrooms and for other school needs are being collected at any branch of Redstone Federal Credit Union for the "South Lincoln School Donation Fund."
Those wishing to send greetings to the staff and students of the schools can mail those to Flintville Elementary School, 37 Flintville School Road, Flintville, Tenn. 37335.