WYNNE -- School officials in storm-ravaged Wynne are hoping to get students back to class in one week's time after Friday's confirmed EF3 tornado tore through the city, destroying its high school and other community fixtures.
Wynne School District Superintendent Kenneth Moore said officials are looking at ways to resume classes by April 10, including assessing the district's intermediate school to see if part of it can be salvaged for grades to combine and learning to resume.
Moore said he met with Arkansas Secretary of Education Jacob Oliva for three hours Saturday to get a plan together, and his administrative team met again Sunday morning.
"We know that in a time like this, when we get back to normal as quick as possible, it really helps our students," Moore said. "We are going to have additional counselors available, because we know that even if we have a thunderstorm -- there's trauma that our kids have gone through -- our staff have gone through -- and so we want to make sure we've got that extra level of support for them."
He said the district also is trying to determine how many families have access to Wi-Fi and laptops for possible remote learning, and Oliva is looking at ways to get additional devices to students.
On Sunday, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders joined Oliva and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell to survey the wreckage of Wynne High School with Moore and Wynne Mayor Jennifer Hobbs.
After touring the campus, Oliva said the damage equated to "hands down" the worst "impacted storm events" he has seen on a school campus.
"We're very grateful to the district and their leadership to make sure that throughout this event students are safe," he added. "We are going to be here on site every single day so we can stand arm [in] arm and hand in hand and one day welcome our students back into our classrooms."
Sanders agreed: It was an "unbelievably tragic moment."
The governor noted that Moore brought her to a spot inside the remains of the school, where all the walls had caved in except for two. On one was a mural of Wynne and on the other was a message: "Once a yellow jacket, always a yellow jacket."
"I think those two things really symbolize what this community is -- could not be more proud than to be governor of Arkansas because of what communities like this and all across our state represent," Sanders said. "People coming together, standing up, knowing that no matter what challenges we face, nothing is going to destroy us. Nothing is going to bring us down.
"If anything we will come back better and stronger," she said. "That doesn't mean it's an easy road. We have a long road. But I can assure you that the people behind me are up to the task."
The governor commended state Sen. Ronald Caldwell, state Rep. Steve Hollowell, and school and city leadership for their efforts after the tornado struck.
"I've been very clear that our perspective is that people are going to come first and the paperwork will come second," Sanders said. "Whatever it takes to bring aid and resources and assistance to the people of Arkansas. That's what we're gonna deliver."
She also thanked Criswell and FEMA for delivering resources to meet victims' needs.
Another effort Sanders recognized was that of Wynne students who found an American flag and a Wynne High School flag to fly outside the destroyed campus.
"I think that should make all of us very proud, not just as a community, but as the next generation coming behind us," she said. "And the people that we know will be running this town once it's rebuilt. I have every confidence that Wynne is going to come back better, bigger and stronger. I can't tell you how proud I am to be here today and stand with this community."
Criswell addressed concerns about more storms and tornadoes predicted to hit the region Tuesday.
She said debris removal underway will aid in preventing more destruction, and the governor's approved request for a presidential disaster declaration will help reimburse those costs.
"What I want people to do; what they need to know right now is that they need to listen to what the weather forecasts are," she emphasized. "They need to know how they're going to get their alerts and how they're going to get that emergency warning, know where they're gonna go. I think we've heard great stories of survival, and we want to make sure that we continue to hear those stories, so having people really pay attention and know what they're gonna do to protect themselves and their family is the most important."
Had technology not delivered on time and given proper warnings, "we'd be looking at a very different situation," Sanders said.
"Thankfully we're not," she said. "I'm hopeful ... people will continue to follow the alerts. Pay attention to the notices and the weather alerts that are coming and listen to your city and local officials that are giving you guidance on where you can go, where you can be safely and not to take these things for granted."
Sanders also applauded volunteers who came from other cities, hours away, to help in the aftermath.
"The level of people and volunteers that we have seen is frankly staggering," Sanders said. "It's one of the reasons I'm so proud to be governor of Arkansas is because our people are so good. It is by far the greatest asset, the state of Arkansas has is the goodness of the people here and we have seen that in droves."
Sanders closed her remarks by reassuring the public that FEMA's partnership with the state is "extremely important" for the long haul of recuperation efforts.
Criswell said schools are the hearts of communities, "and we want to make sure that we get the Yellowjackets back here, right, that we have them back in their school because that's where the heart of the community is."
"As we look to the long-term recovery, we're going to partner with the governor," she added. We are here for the long haul, governor, we are going to be with you through this process. We know that this journey is going to be long, but the programs that we have to help support the rebuilding of this community is what comes with this presidential disaster declaration."
Wynne School superintendent Kenneth Moore (left) leads Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders through the Wynne High School that was hit by Friday's tornado on Sunday, April 2, 2023, in Wynne. More photos at www.arkansasonline.com/43wynne/ (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (left) talks with Wynne mayor Jennifer Hobbs (right) as they tour storm damage outside the First United Methodist Church in Wynne on Sunday, April 2, 2023. More photos at www.arkansasonline.com/43wynne/ (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)
Clean up continues after Friday's tornado that hit Wynne on Sunday, April 2, 2023. More photos at www.arkansasonline.com/43wynne/ (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)