12/27/2021 10:56:00 AM An emergency shelter in a time of need
Tornadoes and thunderstorms packing strong winds knocked out electrical power to about 1,980 Stewartville homes beginning on Wednesday, Dec. 15. Shortly thereafter, many local students, including those pictured above, helped move food stored in the district’s freezers and coolers to trailers and buses Grisim School Bus, Inc., loaned to Stewartville schools. The work prevented the food from thawing inside freezers without power.
Hosting Stewartville and area residents who had lost electrical power, Jeff Johnson spent the night at Bear Cave Intermediate School (BCI) Thursday, Dec. 16 into Friday, Dec. 17. Johnson, the principal of BCI, said 19 local and area residents took shelter at the school between Thursday, Dec. 16 at 5 p.m. and Friday, Dec. 17 at 4 p.m., when electrical power was restored in Stewartville. A handful of the 19 residents who visited BCI stayed at the school gym overnight. Johnson and Alan May, a physical education teacher at the school, also stayed the whole night through. "We watched Thursday Night Football," Johnson said. "The Chiefs and the Chargers were playing. Everybody was just so appreciative for having a warm place. The people we were with were appreciative and grateful." The Red Cross provided comfort kits, which included a toothbrush, toothpaste and blankets, and cots on which guests could sleep. There was also plenty of food available, Johnson said... For more on this story pick up your copy of the Dec. 28 Stewartville STAR.
