School benefits from community's help

Friday, Feb. 19, was a bit scary for students and staff at Kelso C-7 Elementary in New Hamburg, Missouri. After some trim popped off an I-beam, the school was evacuated; it was later determined a wall in the school's cafeteria had settled, causing the plumbing to be compromised in addition to other damage.

The silver lining in this situation is that yet another local town has demonstrated what it is to be a good neighbor.

More than 100 students, plus 22 faculty, at Kelso C-7 Elementary were able to resume classes Feb. 23 thanks to the help of about 100 community members and St. Lawrence Parish. Kelso C-7 is operating out of three buildings owned by the parish until an investigation into the cause of the damage and needed repairs are complete. The community volunteers helped teachers move into the parish center, hall and rectory.

Superintendent Kim Burger told the Southeast Missourian the parish rents the elementary school building to the district, which also pays to use the parish gymnasium.

"It has been as easy a transition as you could ask for," Burger said, noting help from community members and neighboring schools has been "the true testament."

Undoubtedly, without the efforts of the community, the time between the school's evacuation and the resumption of classes would have been much longer. The cause of the slipping wall has yet to be determined, but in the meantime, the students have learned a valuable lesson about being neighborly.