Tornadoes Severely Damage Schools

Schools in Magoffin, Morgan and Wolfe counties sustained severe damage from last week's tornadoes and thunderstorms. District spokeswoman Jennifer Salyer said Wednesday that West Liberty Elementary and the central offices of Morgan County Schools were so badly damaged that both have been condemned. Salyer said the plan is for West Liberty Elementary students and the district offices to move into the former Boneal factory building so that classes may resume Monday, if families in the storm-ravaged community are ready. Major storm damage to Herald Whitaker Middle School and Salyersville Grade School in Magoffin County have left more than a third of the district's 2,100 students with no place to attend classes. Magoffin Superintendent Joe Hunley said the two buildings were so badly damaged that neither can be repaired before the end of this school year. Wolfe County Schools Superintendent Kenny Bell says hail punctured hundreds of holes in the roof at Wolfe County High School during the storm, causing much of the interior to be flooded, and most of the district's school buses were damaged and will need extensive repairs.