During the very difficult time we faced with last week’s ice storm, there were so many good deeds done that the quality of our folks was shining. It is during the tough times that the true character of a community comes to the forefront! We are very thankful to all those men and women who worked day and night to put our community back together.
Listed below are a few examples of the spirit among our own staff during these tough times. Please forgive any omissions – I know there were many others who stepped up to help, and I don’t mean to leave anyone out!
- Paul Laurence Dunbar High School staff – Thanks for your help in opening the building to allow Dunbar to be a shelter for those in need.
- Henry Clay High School staff – Thanks for your help in opening the building so those working to get electricity restored throughout the city had a place to shower and warm up.
- Custodial staff – Thanks for working so hard to clear the snow and ice, coming in early to open our buildings, doing building checks to make sure pipes didn’t freeze and our roofs were OK, etc.
- Operations staff – Thanks for working 12-to-14-hour days to clear and salt parking lots and sidewalks to keep us safe.
- Maintenance staff – Thanks for working 12-to-14-hour days to keep our heat running, check on generators for our freezers, and make sure our buildings were ready for the return of our kids.
- Risk Management and Safety staff – Thanks for helping coordinate the Dunbar shelter for those in need and for serving on the emergency team.
- Food Service staff – Thanks for checking on our food to make sure it is OK and also for helping at the Dunbar shelter by providing meals.
- Nursing staff – Thanks for your help at the Dunbar shelter.
- Transportation and snow crew – Thanks for going out at 2:30 a.m. every day to check the roads and make recommendations to keep us safe.
- Payroll and Finance staff – Thanks for working late and coming in when the roads were bad to complete the payroll process and ensure everyone was paid on time.
- Print shop staff – Thanks for coming in to ensure that our employees received their checks.
- Law Enforcement – Thanks for being here and taking care of emergencies, posting our closings on the Web and Channel 13, answering alarms, etc.
- Communications staff – Thanks for your help keeping folks informed about what was going on.
As our custodians were clearing the sidewalk and parking lot areas at IAKSS, the folks from Magee’s Bakery across the street brought them coffee, donuts and biscuits. Wow, what a good neighbor – thank you!
These are just some examples of the hard work and cooperation that took place this past week and will continue as we move forward. We are all so thankful for each of you!
Before I close, I just wanted to give an update on weather make-up days. Further down in Stu’s News we’ve included a list of the current schedule of make-up days. I wanted to make you all aware that we have received word that the Kentucky Department of Education is looking at what options are available for school districts making up missed instructional days during a state of emergency. We’ll keep you posted on what we hear.
