BY MIRIAM SMITH
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON -- Ernie and Janelle Rice surveyed the damage to their sons' school Sunday.
They sat in their minivan and looked solemnly at a pile of charred chairs and desks outside Wilson Junior High School. Pages of sheet music were scattered in the snow.
They stopped to see how the clean-up was coming after fire destroyed the school's music room Friday. They took it personally.
"It's just devastating to see all that damage and to think that somebody did that purposely," Mrs. Rice said.
Their two sons, Shawn, 12, and Kristopher, 14, are cellists in the orchestra. And both instruments used by the boys were ruined in the blaze. The fire consumed at least 50 musical instruments owned or rented by 73 band members.
Shawn recognized a burned table from his science class stacked in the mound of debris.
His brother said later he couldn't understand why someone would set their school on fire.
"I can't believe our school got burned," Kristopher said. "I'm just glad it didn't happen when we were in school."
Hamilton fire officials have not identified any suspects. Deputy Fire Chief Peter Trauthwein said Sunday the arson is under investigation and a $5,000 reward is offered for anyone who calls 868-5914 with information leading to the arrest of the arsonist. No one was injured but the estimated damage was least $1 million. For at least a few weeks, the school's 865 students will be displaced. Students will move temporarily to Hamilton High School this week. Hamilton City Schools spokeswoman Joni Copas said the 7th-9th grade students have no school today because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and an at-home exam review on Tuesday.
Students will go to the high school from 1-3:50 p.m. Wednesday through Friday for exam reviews with teachers, Ms. Copas said. Bus transportation will be available during those hours. Students who walk to Wilson are expected to walk to the high school, she said. Ms. Copas said the community is responding to the damage to the 65-year-old school, attended by three or four generations of Hamilton residents.
"I think right now people are just feeling the loss and realizing that you're going to have to think out of the box and be able to bend and give a little," she said. "Under these circumstances, maybe we have to do something a little bit differently than what you're used to. We're going to have to use everyone's support to get that done."
Some local music stores have contacted school officials about securing instruments for students. Churches have offered space for student activities, Ms. Copas said.
"It's nice to see the community rally around something like this," she said. "It's definitely comforting."
Harold Bryant, operations manager for Servpro, a Cincinnati fire and water restoration service that is handling the clean-up, said 45 to 60 people are working 12-hour days cleaning books, furniture and computer equipment.
Mr. Bryant said they were ahead of schedule Sunday, but he was uncertain how long it would take to finish.
The school should be able to salvage up to 98 percent of its equipment, he said.
Hamilton firefighter Joe Lorance said he helped fight the fire Friday and then had to try to explain it to his 12-year-old son Joey, a student at the school.
"He couldn't believe it," Mr. Lorance said. "His big thing was, 'Will they ever catch the person who did this?' You have to be honest with them and say, 'I don't know.' "
PH:Photos by Yoni Pozner - The Cincinnati Enquirer CP:A singed songsheet in the snow is typical of what happened to the school's music department.
