COWETA, Okla. — Coweta students and the community are coming together to clean up after Sunday night's storm and EF-1 tornado.
Mission Intermediate Grade Center got the brunt of the storm. Inside, ductwork is hanging from the ceiling and ceiling tiles are on the floor. Outside, about nine HVAC units were damaged, leaving holes in the roof and water damage inside.
>> Photos: Damage left throughout Coweta after EF-1 tornado
Coweta Public Schools Superintendent Jeff Holmes said he had to break the news to one of the teachers.
“Inside her classroom, her window was blown out," Holmes said.
"And things were just scattered everywhere. I mean, desks and books and everything else that you can imagine.”
Behind the school, Coweta’s baseball field is missing most of its outfield fence. The scoreboard and flag pole were also damaged. A piece of the outdoor batting cage, called the turtle, ended up behind the field.
Most of the outfield fence on the Coweta baseball field is gone. The team was out cleaning up debris this morning. @KJRH2HD pic.twitter.com/UXu2TFdv51
— Katie Keleher (@KKeleherKJRH) October 11, 2021
Coweta Head Baseball Coach Mason Stookey said glass from the middle school, along with baseballs, scattered the field. But his biggest concern is the field itself, where he’s been working hard to make the grass pristine.
“Between the divets and grass being gone in the outfield, it was pretty sickening," Stookey said.
With school canceled, Stookey gathered the baseball team together Monday morning. Instead of sleeping in and staying home, they came together to clean debris off their field.
“Putting a little sweat equity into the field is going to make them appreciate it a little more in the long run," Stookey said.
Next door, the Coweta football team also showed up to pick up after the storm. They gathered metal ripped from buildings, scattered tree limbs and other items and cleared the parking lot.
“I mean, it helps bring the team together, coming out here, helping everybody pick up and stuff," said Nathan Maledon, a junior at Coweta High School.
“We had a big old truckload and it probably took us about 10-15 minutes just to unload it with everybody’s help," said Carson Flanary, also a junior at Coweta High School.
The district is surveying all of the damage and has to figure out if and when students can get back into Mission Intermediate School.
“If we need to make plans for them, for students to go to whether it be other schools where we may have some empty classrooms," Holmes said.
"Or if we need to find some of our community partners to help out, I know that Coweta will pitch in. We’ll be fine.”
There were initial reports that Coweta High School was also damaged; however, it appears to be OK.
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