Hurricane Ike, Things are Beginning to Return to Normal

Today was the first day back to class for both students and teachers since Hurricane Ike struck the area two weeks ago, at least in our town. Some places started a few days ago, while others still can not return to the routine of school. There were mixed feelings about being back, on both the teacher and the student side of things. Glad because it's a sign that things are getting back to normal, sad because the break was kind of nice (once the terror was over anyway). The unexpected time off is much harder to return from because of all the uncertainty involved. There is no way to get yourself mentally ready for the return, because you aren't sure when that will be. Not to mention, many of the teachers have many repairs waiting for them at home and young children to worry about. A number of daycares don't have power and are not open yet, so parents are having difficulty returning to their jobs since they have no one to watch their children.

The older school buildings fared better overall. Our building had some water leak in from the internal courtyard areas, causing minor flooding in some of the hallways. The worst spot was the library, since it is right by the large courtyard next to the cafeteria. The carpet had to be ripped out, but none of the books were truly ruined. A few minor cases of mildew. The bookcases, which have been there for at least 20 years, got some water damage on the bottom. They are plywood and will probably have to be replaced, as they are trying to split now. Any roof damage that we sustained is so minor that it won't be visible until the next good rain (except on the new gym). One of the brand new junior highs lost enough of its roof to lose the use of 21 classrooms, these classes are going to be meeting in the halls, etc. until the rooms can be fixed.

Today and tomorrow, while teaching content, we are letting the students vent about their experiences during Ike. Today was mostly talk about what they went through. Tomorrow, in my class at least, we will be trying to come up with solutions to the problems caused by hurricanes.

In our town, 25% still do not have power. They are saying, as of this morning, that it will be November before 100% of the area has power back. In Galveston, it may be even longer. They are getting debris from Galveston in Corpus Christi, they know it's from Galveston because it's things like personal computers and such that can be traced back to the owners. For those of you not familiar with the area, I'm including this map to show the distance between the two cities. Sadly, I couldn't find one with a scale on it, but the latitude and longitude should help give an idea of the distance. Some of the houses on Galveston island were so completely destroyed, not even the foundation remains.

I'd like to thank, on behalf of our whole community, all the police men, electrical workers, phone men, tree cutters, and everyone else from other states and countries that have come down here to help us. It is really appreciated, even if we do not say thank you to your face. I truly hope that you never need us to return the favor.

A Further Hurricane Ike Update

It is now Thursday, four full days have passed since the last part of Ike left our area. Clean up efforts were detailed slightly by a rain storm Sunday morning.

Stores are open, but most don't have perishable goods such as bread, meat, dairy, and fresh fruits. Ice and gas still create huge lines. We got our power back, only to have the air conditioner run out of freon the next day. It has been nice and cool the last few days, but after several days of no privacy because our windows had to be open all the time we really wanted to close them and use the A/C instead. Plus the A/C also helps clear out the moisture that had started making the house smell musty due to the windows having been open. Many people are still without power, even in our town.

The night before last we had friends and their two kids stay with us. They needed to get into some electricity and cool air. They wanted one night to catch up on their tv shows that they have missed. It is very disruptive for them to be staying a different place every night, but they feel like they are putting people out and don't want to be a burden on others. Having them here wasn't a problem at all, though convincing them of that was a different story. During the day they are cleaning up the remainder of the family business.

Yesterday, just has the husband was going to bed, there was a knock on the door. "We need everyone out of the apartment, or at least out of the upstairs." They were cutting the branch that was over our roof down. They wanted to make sure that no one was upstairs just in case something went wrong. The branch was the size of a small tree, probably weighed at least a ton. It had to be cut down because another branch, from another tree, had landed in it during the storm and they couldn't guarantee the integrity of the limb. It was rather nail biting to watch them cut the limb down, but they did a great job. The only damage was a few boards were knocked out of the fence in our backyard, which I now have to sweep all the leaves out of again.

School was canceled for the whole week, the staff will have a meeting on Monday. I'm guessing that it will be about the supplies students will need, about how many of our students lost their homes, and whether we will be taking in any evacuees from the surrounding areas. My husband doesn't think so, since most people fled to Austin or Dallas, but I think that many will be returning to the area to be near their work even if their home is gone. I have a feeling we will be getting some students, and possibly even some teachers added to our various campuses. It will be interesting to see if I am right, and when we will make up the missed days or if the TEA (Texas Education Agency) will excuse us from making them up. Now I'm gong to finishing writing our first test of the year.