The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/875933
The Press-Dispatch Local Wednesday, September 20, 2017 A- 5 PIKE COUNTY For more information, call the Pike County Solid Waste Management District at 812-354-2924 Pike County Solid Waste Management District together with Advanced Disposal will be conducting a Fall Clean-Up at the Blackfoot Landfill • Pike County Residents Only • (must show proof of residency at entrance) • NO commercial • • NO household hazardous waste will be accepted • (paints, chemicals, computers, etc.) FREE— • Recycling of appliances, including those with Freon. washers, dryers, stoves, refrigerators, etc. • Disposal of up to 4 tires. $1.00 charge for each tire after four. passenger truck and car tires only • Disposal of furniture and other bulky items. couches, chairs, tables, etc. Friday, Oct. 6 • 8am - 4pm Saturday, Oct. 7 • 8am - Noon Blackfoot Landfill • on State Rd. 64, 2.3 miles East of Arthur Junction FALL CLEAN-UP NO TELEVISIONS!! Pregnant... or think you are? Call:1-877-257-1084 or Locally Call: 1-812-354-2814 • Free pregnancy testing • Free counseling and info. on pregnancy options. • Confi dential counseling for women & men who are suff ering from post-abortion syndrome. • Residential Care • Health and assistance referrals. • Training and education. • Assistance in getting baby and maternity clothes washpcc@sbcglobal.net www.washingtonpregnancycenter.com By Ed Cahill The tornado that struck Petersburg on June 2, 1990, was gone but not forgot- ten when plans were be- ing made for a new build- ing for Petersburg Elemen- tary School, which was de- stroyed in the storm. As classes were being held for two years in 11 portable buildings located behind the Old Petersburg Gym, a committee of school officials, teachers, parents and members of the com- munity met to discuss what features they wanted their new school to have. "We knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportu- nity," said Steve Meadors, who served as principal at Petersburg Elementary School from 1983 to 2008, during a ceremony mark- ing the school's 25th anni- versary on Thursday, Sept. 14. "Our school was de- stroyed. We knew whatev- er type of facility we built, it was something that was going to be here for a lot of years." Members of the commit- tee would visit several re- cently constructed schools to get ideas, Meadors said. "We wanted to incor- porate the best of the fea- tures, and the things they didn't like, we tried to stay away from," Meadors said. "So, for quite some time, we visited schools, trying to make a decision – what did we want at Petersburg Elementary School? " Some of the features which were ultimately in- corporated into the $ 9 mil- lion building were a regula- tion-sized gymnasium, por- table bleachers that can be moved into the middle of the gym floor for school pro- grams, a large stage area, and a group room, Meadors noted. However, Meadors said, the most important feature of the new Petersburg El- ementary School building was the addition of safe ar- eas. "Our top priority for this school was we wanted someplace safe for the stu- dents to go if we had bad weather," Meadors said. In the school's previous building, whenever weath- er drills were held, stu- dents had to go into the rest- rooms, where they got down on the floor and put a book over the back of their heads. "And the floors were not always real clean," Meadors noted. "So we told the archi- tects that one of the things we wanted were clean, safe areas for our students." "I remember the archi- tect saying, 'We've never built a school with safe ar- eas in it before,'"Meadors continued. "And she asked, 'Why is that so important? ' And we told her, we just went through a tornado. The parents, the students are all very nervous about maybe having bad weather again, so we want safe areas for the students to go to." Meadors told the school's current students that while they may know about the safe areas, they may not be aware what makes them so safe. "What you may not know is, in the ceiling, there's eight inches of reinforced concrete, and the walls are eight inches of reinforced concrete, so when you go in- to the safe areas at Peters- burg Elementary, it's like gong into a concrete bun- ker," Meadors said. "And I think that if there's ever go- ing to be bad weather again in Petersburg, one of the safest places to be is here at school, and that made us all feel much, much better." Meadors said that when parents would come to the school to pick their chil- dren up during bad weath- er events, he would always encourage them to let their children stay. "I would tell them, my ad- vice is leave your students here, you stay here with them ... because there is no safer place in Pike County than in these safe areas," Meadors recalled. "So I felt very comfortable with the decisions that we made." During Thursday's cere- mony, the school's students and staff were joined by Meadors and several retired teachers and staff – includ- ing former librarian Alene Grubb – who worked at the school when it opened in its current location in 1992. Students also got a chance to watch videos showing the havoc wreaked by the 1990 tornado throughout Peters- burg, and included news coverage of a visit by then- Vice-President Dan Quayle to survey the damage. In addition, students were shown the contents of a time capsule that was cre- ated in 1992 and placed in storage, with instructions not to open it until 2017. "It doesn't seem like it's been 25 years," Meadors said afterward. Meadors described the event as "very emotional." "I really enjoyed my job," Meadors said. "I enjoyed the interaction with the kids on a daily basis. I enjoyed the staff. It's like homecom- ing week for me. I've been retired for nine years and there's not a day that's went by that I haven't missed the students and teachers here at Petersburg Elementary. This is my home." "I'll say this, and I know I shouldn't, but this is my school," Meadors added. "And as long as I'm here, it will always be. PES is my school." Petersburg Elementary celebrates 25th anniversary Retired Petersburg Elementary School teacher Jim Loveless checks out a 1991-92 yearbook that was found inside a time capsule created in 1992 when the new school building was opened, two years after the 1990 tornado. Ed Cahill photo From left to right, retired Petersburg Elementary School teachers Ja- net Curtis, Jim Loveless, Barbara Morton and Linda Wilson look at photo- graphs that had been placed inside a time capsule in 1992, when the new school building opened. Ed Cahill photo Retired Petersburg Elementary School teacher Jonna Isaacs (left) speaks while Cathy Farmer (right) holds up a coin purse that was found inside in a time capsule created in 1992 during a ceremony held on Thursday, Sept. 14, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the school's opening. Ed Cahill photo Petersburg Elementary School principal Rick King (far right) chats with re- tired teachers Trudy Bledsoe (seated, left) and Sandy Arnholt (center) before a ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 14, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the school's opening. Ed Cahill photo Former Petersburg Elementary School student Chelsa Knepp (left) and re- tired teacher Cathy Farmer (right) look at photographs that had been placed inside in a time capsule in 1992, when the new school building opened. Ed Cahill photo