Teachers, staffers pitch in to aid cleanup

CELINA - More than 50 teachers and staff members from Celina City Schools spent two planned professional development days on Tuesday and Wednesday alongside students picking up the debris left behind by Monday's tornado.

Staff members could go to school for the in-service days or go out and help the community.

"For as much as the community does for us, we wanted to take the opportunity to give back," superintendent Ken Schmiesing said. "It would have been tough for us to do the in-service day with our attention focused on the community."

Rain began to fall on Wednesday as they arrived at the Bruns Addition and Wheatland Acres, but that didn't stop them from helping as many residents as they could.

A large group helped carry ruined furniture and other items from Gary Mastin's home to the pile of debris on the sidewalk while others cleaned up the yard.

"I don't know of another group of people more community-minded than teachers," Mastin said.

Across the street, student council member Olivia Felver said the scale of the damage is intense as she helped member Solomon Hierholzer clean up shingles, insulation and other debris in Sara Walker's backyard.

"Two years ago, many businesses were hit by the tornado. When it hits homes, it puts it in a different perspective," she added.

Teacher Jackie Mertz was in the front yard helping Shawn Snider rake up and put more debris into trash bags.

"If this happened to me, I would want people to help me out, too," Mertz said.

Seeing them help clean up her yard made Walker smile and say "we wouldn't be able do this without them."

Celina head football coach Brennen Bader didn't have to do much asking to get his players to help the community.

"They knew what kind of situation the town was in," he said. "It didn't take us reaching out to them. Some of them had friends who were affected by the tornado and storms. They felt obliged to go out and do something to help out. We've seen a lot of that the last two days."

The home belonging to junior high wrestling coach Joey Braun was one of at least three Celina schools staff members' homes damaged by Monday night's EF3 tornado that impacted at least 40 houses. This inspired varsity wrestling head coach James Miracle to bring his team to help.

"Even if that wouldn't have happened, we would be out there," he said. "Our big thing is to give back. Obviously, we want to make better wrestlers, but honestly our first mission is to make better people. That was our thought process."

When something this devastating or tragic happens to the community, Bader said it's important to look for the positives.

"What you see is a verification that we live in a great community full of great people," he said. "Our student-athletes are a microcosm of all that. It's great to see people helping people in a time of great need. It makes you proud to live in a community like this."

- Sports Writer Gary R. Rasberry contributed to this story.

Find links to all other tornado coverage on this page including stories, map, albums and video.