JOPLIN, Mo. — Standing just a few yards from home plate Tuesday at Joplin High School’s former baseball field, Callie Van Ostran was reminded of the fear and uncertainty in the aftermath of the nation’s deadliest tornado in decades.
“The day after, no one quite knew what to do next,” said Van Ostran, who had just completed her sophomore year at Joplin High. “No one knew quite what was going to happen.
“Now there is hope.”
Van Ostran, who was elected senior class president for the 2012-13 school year, articulated the optimistic tone that dominated four school groundbreakings in Joplin on Tuesday.
In a symbolic move, the events were held one year to the day that a powerful tornado devastated the city, killing 161 people and destroying or damaging half of Joplin’s 20 school buildings.
The tornado later was rated an EF5, the highest rating on the Enhanced Fujita Scale of tornado strength.
Destroyed were Joplin High, East Middle School, Franklin Technology Center, Irving Elementary School, Emerson Elementary School and Old South Middle School.
The damage to the schools was estimated at more than $100 million, said Kelli Price, a spokesman for the school district.
Tuesday’s ceremonies began in the morning, when hundreds gathered for the groundbreaking of Irving Elementary School on land donated to the district by Mercy, the health system that operated St. John’s Regional Medical Center.
The hospital, which took a direct hit from the tornado, was abandoned after the storm and is slowly being dismantled. Its hulking shell sits on a hill a few hundred feet from the new school site.
“What a great day, a blessed day,” Ashley Micklethwaite, a Joplin School Board member and Mercy employee, said to the crowd at the groundbreaking. “The gift of this land will serve our community and children for decades to come.”
The event held great significance for Irving teacher Carmi Hinman, whose home and church were also destroyed in the storm. She made sure her 5-year-old son, Parker, grabbed a shovel to move some ceremonial dirt.
Parker will eventually attend Irving and so will her 3-year-old daughter, Delaney, said Hinman.
“We’re hoping that they will be able to remember this,” Hinman said.
She said she never thought about not returning to her classroom.
The groundbreaking for Joplin High School/Franklin Technology Center drew thousands to the defunct ball field. It was one of the stops on the city’s Walk of Unity, an afternoon march across Joplin that drew between 5,000 and 6,000 participants.
At the East Middle School and elementary-school groundbreaking, a representative of General Mills, the Minneapolis-based food producer, presented a check for $100,000to support the project. General Mills operates a plant in Joplin that employs 500 people.
Information for this article was contributed by The Associated Press.
Arkansas, Pages 18 on 05/23/2012