Tuesday, April 13, 1999
Junior high kids back at home after fire
BY SUE KIESEWETTER
Enquirer Contributor
HAMILTON — The phoenix has risen at Wilson Junior High School.
“Just as the Phoenix is risen from smoldering ashes, so will Wilson Junior High School rise to new heights of academic, athletic and artistic achievement.”
— an art poster at Wilson
Just three months after a fire gutted the school's music room and a science room above it, students returned to their newly painted school Monday. A paper phoenix rising from a 3-foot-high, 10-foot-long poster, made by art teachers Barb Brune and Deb Nibert, greeted them.
Egyptian mythology says the phoenix, a beautiful bird that lives in the Arabian desert for 500 years and then sets itself on fire, rises renewed from the ashes to start another life.
Aside from roaming reporters and photographers, it was business as usual for Wilson's 860 seventh- through ninth-graders.
Some, however, had a hard time getting up. Since the Jan. 15 fire, Hamilton High School has been on a split schedule: High school students went in the morning; Wilson students attended in the afternoon.
“It was tough to get up. I was half-asleep,” said eighth-grader Shawn Garrett.
Tim Cummins, 17, of Hamilton has been charged as an adult with aggravated arson in connection with the fire. A 15-year-old pleaded guilty to juvenile charges of aggravated arson and other offenses. He has been sentenced to two years in a juvenile detention facility.
Damage from the fire exceeded $1.7 million. Most of it has been covered by insurance.
“So far, things are moving smoothly,” said school employee Durb Tuley. He spent part of the day helping move boxes into the right rooms and making copies at nearby Hamilton High until Wilson's copier can be brought back to the school.
“There have been little things we knew would happen: Kids forgot where their lockers were or what rooms their classes were in. As each thing comes up, we handle it,” Mr. Tuley said.
Principal Tracey Miller likened Monday's reopening to the first day of school when everyone is excited and ready to begin anew. During the students' absence, the entire school got a coat of paint, floors were revarnished, and several fogging bombs were set off to remove the smoke smell that permeated the entire school after the fire.
“It feels cleaner. It's so bright in here, not dingy-looking,” said Crystal Backstheider, 15. “But the smell — it stinks.”
Aside from the smell — from new paint, varnish and fogging — there were few complaints, Mr. Miller said. Work will begin later this week on planning for the last dance of the year.
“There's an excitement, a nervousness,” Mr. Miller said. “We're trying to give everything as normal as possible appearance. We're putting back up the pictures, student art work, the trophies.”
Still, some things won't be normal for a few more weeks until work finishes on the music room and one science classroom. They won't be ready for students until the end of the month, Mr. Miller said. Until then, music classes will be in the cafeteria, library or on the stage in the gymnasium. Same for John Brassfield's science classes.
“The community support from here and neighboring districts has been amazing,” said Mr. Brassfield, who is in his first year of teaching after 20 years in the fast-food business.
“The intermediate school in Fair field raised $1,000 for us. I've been given new material for bulletin boards. Friends, peers and students have given us what we need.”
Karrie Hamel, 14, summed up the thoughts of many of Wilson's students: “I love being back at my school. It feels right. I felt weird at Hamilton High School.”
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