Central Lutheran unable to host students after derecho damage - Cedar Valley Daily Times

Central Lutheran School in Newhall will be forced to delay their 2020-21 school year for approximately 180 students as the August 10 derecho has left the school damaged and unsafe for kids to return.

“We had six staff members inside the building when the storm hit,” Principal Frank Parris said. “When the sirens went off, they went into the safety hallway. They got a little concerned when they heard the ceiling start to move and the power went off. They heard a large crashing noise and smelled gas, so they moved to the front doors for a bit to breathe in fresh air.

The crashing sound Parris referred to turned out to be the roof of the school’s small gym being torn off and flung over the campus grounds. While the larger gym was spared damage, water got into the school hallways and the playground was slightly damaged. No injuries or fatalities occured. The school is without phone service and power was recently restored to Newhall.

“The small gym roof being ripped off caused damage to the other buildings, including holes for the rain to come in,” Parris said. “There’s basically wind and water damage throughout the school. A row of trees north of our school which separated our playground from our neighbors were all bent over. They have been removed.”

Repair has begun on Central Lutheran as administration hired BluSky Restoration Contractors of Colorado Springs, CO. The company is currently performing water mitigation in the classrooms and have moved all salvageable desks and equipment into the large gym. Carpet in the hallways is being ripped out and replaced. Drywall which had been holding the moisture has been removed and will be put back in.

“They have been top notch, very professional and very knowledgeable when sharing about the damages,” Parris said. “One of our teachers has a brother who works for BluSky and got us connected with them. Our project leader, Ken Strickland, has been transparent and telling us what’s going on as we work with our insurance.”

Central Lutheran staff and administration thanked the workers with a lunch on Saturday at St. John Luthern Church. Parris noted the workers had mostly ate gas station food since arriving and hoped to convey gratitude for the “top of the line organization.”

Parris is “unsure” of an estimate on damage and continues to work with the school’s insurance as testing and sampling are underway. Donations are being accepted through a GoFundMe page and grants are available to help cover the damage. A date for classes to resume has not been set as of publication.

“We plan to continue sharing God’s word with our children to be disciples,” Parris said. “We will continue to help them through life situations like COVID or disasters like this storm. We look forward to moving forward.”