Newsmakers focuses on Joplin Vision 2022

Video- Weather Channel special focuses on Joplin Tornado, paranormal activity

A new program focusing on paranormal activity surrounding the May 22, 2011, Joplin Tornado, is scheduled to air 8 p.m. Monday and 1 a.m. Tuesday on the Weather Channel.

The program, an episode of The Weather Channel's Tornado Alley series is titled Twisted Believers and is described in a Carthage Press article:

The program features Joplin tornado survivor Emily Huddleston, then 14, who was badly injured while returning home from the Joplin High School graduation where her brother graduated.

Also featured in this program will be the Paranormal Science Lab, a Carthage-based group that investigates paranormal activity around the region, and Carthage Press Editor John Hacker, who co-authored two books about the tornado with former Press Editor Randy Turner.

In the episode, survivors of the Joplin tornado share their stories of divine intervention and paranormal activity after the tornado with the Paranormal Science Lab team.

From three years ago- Death, destruction hit Joplin, Missouri

May 22, 2011- It does not seem like it has been three years since the tornado ripped through Joplin, Missouri. leaving death and destruction in its wake. I wrote the following essay approximately 14 hours after the tornado for the Huffington Post. It later was featured in our book 5:41: Stories from the Joplin Tornado. As I read through it, I remember not only the horror I felt as I listened to reports of the tornado, but also the sense of dread that fell over Joplin the following day as we awaited what forecasters thought might be another round of tornadoes.

Each year, my eighth graders at Joplin East Middle School look forward to their first official visit to Joplin High School.

They have heard the horror stories about the school, how they, as freshmen the next year, will need to stay clear of the seniors who have worked their way up to the top of the food chain.

They speak in hushed whispers of Eagle Alley, a near mythical hallway that one almost needs a guide to navigate.

That first trip, which was scheduled for Wednesday, will never happen.

Eagle Alley is a thing of the past. After the devastating killer tornado that ripped through the heart of my city Sunday night, Joplin High School, the place where so many of my former students have learned the skills they need to succeed in life, the place where they made friends, created memories, and prepared for their passage into adulthood exists only in memory.

At least 89 people are reported dead and hundreds injured as a result of the first major tornado to hit Joplin in four decades.

Those of us who were fortunate enough not to be in the path of the storm (it hit approximately a quarter of a mile from the apartment complex where I live) waited in the center of a darkened city, praying that loved ones had somehow managed to remain safe in what reporters were describing as a scene from a war zone.

With nearly all power gone in this city of 50,000, the night sky was still illuminated by jagged streaks of lightning in the distance and by the lights from emergency vehicles as they passed every few seconds.

When morning arrived, we were greeted by a sun that seemed almost foreign in light of what had happened.

And now the waiting begins. Every few moments I scan through Facebook postings, heartened by messages that indicate my students and former students are alive. So far, none have been listed among the casualties through word of mouth, but it may be only a matter of time. Officials have yet to release any of the names of those who were killed.

The Joplin School District has canceled classes for today and they may well be finished for the school year, which had another nine days to go. Three of our school buildings are gone forever and the middle school where I teach no longer has a roof.

Many of my former students received their high school diplomas Sunday afternoon during graduation ceremonies at Missouri Southern State University, commemorating their achievements over the past four years at Joplin High School. Now that ceremony, which should have been a memorable milestone in their young lives, will always be tainted by tragedy.

As I write these words, slightly more than 14 hours have passed since the city of Joplin was changed forever.

The welcoming sunshine of just an hour ago has vanished, replaced by darkening clouds and the steady, insistent rumbling of thunder.

And now we wait.

***

5:41: Stories from the Joplin Tornado is available in paperback and e-book formats from Amazon and can be purchased locally at Always Buying Books, Changing Hands Book Shoppe, and Vintage Stock on the Mall in Joplin, as well as at Pat's Books in Carthage.

Video- Tour provided for new Joplin High School/Franklin Tech

A Jet 14 production

C. J. Huff in national magazine: My vision moved Joplin forward

(The following article is reprinted courtesy of Emergency Management magazine and can be found at this link.)

The EF5 tornado that hit Joplin, Mo., on May 22, 2011, spent 32 minutes on the ground. In that brief period, the twister managed to inflict immense damage.

The storm, which featured winds exceeding 200 mph, killed 161 people and destroyed more than 25 percent of the city, including 7,000 homes and nearly 2,000 buildings. It was the deadliest single U.S. tornado since 1953.

And the twister didn’t spare Joplin schools. Twenty of the school district’s buildings were damaged or destroyed, causing more than $100 million in damage and leaving more than 4,000 students without a school to attend.

“The tornado seemed to take a direct hit on the schools,” said Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr. “But we were fortunate it happened on a Sunday afternoon and not on a school day.”

As the city battled shock and confusion in the wake of the disaster, Rohr, Joplin Schools Superintendent C.J. Huff and other city leaders concluded that moving ahead with plans to repair the city would be key to the healing process.

“I can’t even begin to describe the sights, sounds and smells of what I experienced,” said Huff. “It was an abysmal feeling. We were in a very bad place as a community. But you can’t just stay in that place. So we started talking about what the future would look like and making plans right away.”

Read about the three priorities that helped rebuild Joplin's schools.

A few days later, Huff announced his intention to the school board: Joplin schools would open again in time for the fall semester, which was just 84 days away.  

“Making that declaration was important for a number of reasons,” he said. “It created a vision and helped us to stop focusing on the despair. Instead, everyone started thinking about how we were going to pull together to get our schools back online in time for the next school year.”

The Search for Space

In all, Joplin lost more than 600,000 square feet of educational space. The process of finding temporary classrooms for 4,000 kids and repairing the damaged schools was at first overwhelming.

“Obviously you don’t have a game plan for something of this magnitude,” Huff said. “But we started by working with the local Chamber of Commerce, real estate agents and the Army Corps of Engineers to find large, open spaces that could be modified to meet our school needs.”

Among the first priorities was creating an interim high school. The devastated Joplin High, which had served 2,200 students just before the disaster, had been the city’s only high school.

“Not only was the high school important because of the number of students that attended, but also because, as high school students, these would be the last memories of their K-12 education,” Huff said. “We wanted to treat our kids right and make sure the facilities were high-quality, even though they were temporary.”

The city secured 100,000 square feet of vacant retail space at the north end of Joplin’s largest mall, once occupied by a Shopko department store. Corner Greer & Associates of Joplin was selected to retrofit the space and transform it into an educational area. Designers and contractors had just 55 business days to complete the job. They not only had to be fast, they also had to be creative in working with limitations. For example, the kitchen and science labs had to be housed in modular trailers outside the building.

Because of limited space at the mall facility, the Joplin School District chose to use the space only for juniors and seniors (approximately 1,100 students). Freshmen and sophomores were sent to Memorial Middle School, which wasn’t hit by the tornado. Other temporary facilities were constructed or retrofitted in various locations to accommodate the rest of Joplin’s students. Huff said the biggest challenge was retrofitting an 80,000-square-foot industrial warehouse that had nothing but a gravel floor — it didn’t even have windows, air conditioning or power.

“We did a lot of juggling to make all the puzzle pieces fit,” Huff said. “It was a full-court press for each of those 84 days.”

In the end, the city successfully found facilities for all its students and the new school year started on time.

New Beginnings

Once students were in their temporary facilities, city officials turned their attention to replacing what had been lost. Rebuilding Joplin schools had one distinct advantage — starting from scratch gave school officials an opportunity to improve both safety and the learning environment. Each of the new schools built or under construction has one or more FEMA-compliant EF5-rated tornado shelters.

“All of our schools will now have safe places for all the children,” Huff said. “That’s important, obviously from a safety perspective, but also from a mental health perspective. Our district has 7,747 kids, and about 40 percent of those kids lived in the direct path of the tornado. Most of them experienced an EF5 tornado up close and personal, and lost everything in the storm. They need that peace of mind, as do the parents. Post-traumatic stress is still very prevalent here.”

The shelters will also be open to the community 24/7. By the time all construction is complete this August, Joplin schools will have enough room to shelter approximately 15,000 people.

In addition to improving safety, Joplin officials took the opportunity to incorporate 21st-century learning environments into the new schools. District leaders engaged high school staff, students, administrators and parents to brainstorm new ideas. A team of administrators toured tech-savvy schools around the country, as well as innovative companies like Apple in Cupertino, Calif., to examine cutting-edge work environments.

“We didn’t take the traditional approach to school construction,” Huff said. “We are creating schools that have a very open environment and collaborative spaces.”

The new schools have moveable walls that allow educators to create flexible spaces where students can collaborate in large and small groups. In addition, small group “think tank” areas are located in all the new buildings.

Technology also plays a key role. Franklin Technology Center will be incorporated into the new Joplin High School, and thanks to a $1 million donation from the United Arab Emirates Embassy, all 2,200 Joplin high school students now have a dual-platform laptop computer. All new buildings are also wired for current and future technology opportunities.

From a curriculum perspective, Huff said they have developed a new Career Pathway framework for course delivery.

“In essence we will be creating interdisciplinary teams that are in the process of delivering rigorous, project-based instruction in the students’ areas of interest,” he said. “We have five broad career pathways kids can choose from.”

Care was also taken to ensure the new school buildings would be efficient. While they won’t be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rated due to the high cost of certification, the buildings were built with sustainability in mind, with everything from the materials used, to rain water collection for irrigation, to natural daylighting, and motion on/off switches in the classrooms. In addition, the new Joplin High School has a conduit in place to incorporate solar power once it becomes cost effective.

Moving Forward

Though the 2011 tornado left a permanent scar on Joplin, Huff and Rohr are thankful something good came out of the wreckage. In January 2014, students moved into two new elementary schools and a new middle school. The permanent high school will be complete in August. The schools will not only be stronger, safer and better equipped to handle another tornado should one occur, but they also have the distinction of being some of the most advanced learning spaces in the U.S.

“We took the design of our new schools very seriously, and we went above and beyond to research best practices from a learning standpoint as well as from a construction standpoint,” Huff said. “When all is said and done, we’ll have some pretty amazing new schools that are efficient, cost effective and innovative.”

This story was originally published by Emergency Management magazine

Arne Duncan: In Joplin, I witnessed a community working together

(The following post on the U. S. Department of Education blog was written this month by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.)

“The best ideas come from outside Washington, D.C.” I’ve used that phrase in a lot of speeches and conversations during the past five years, and I repeat it because it’s true.Earlier this month in Hawaii, I visited two schools and talked with military families at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam about college and career ready standards. The stop in Hawaii marked my 50th state that I’ve visited since being Secretary, and the visit once again reinforced the importance of listening to what matters most at the local level.

During the past five years, whether my visit was to a conference, a community center, a business, an early childhood center, a university, or one of the more than 340 schools I’ve stopped by, I’ve come away with new insight and knowledge into the challenges local communities face, and the creative ways people are addressing them. I know that in order to do this job well, it’s vital to never stop listening, especially to those in the classroom each day.

Indicted Rangeline developer involved in collapse of two banks

The Springfield developer whose prime Joplin property is going to be sold at auction May 19 is scheduled to go to trial in July following his indictment by a federal grand jury on 17 counts, including bank fraud, wire fraud, bankruptcy fraud, and money laundering.

Court records indicate that Richard Gregg, 58, was involved in actions that caused the collapse of two banks, and as noted in the Turner Report Thursday, included a misuse of the insurance settlement he received for his properties at 1717 Rangeline following the Joplin Tornado.

The allegations against Gregg were spelled out in this March 2013 news release from the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri:

Nearly half of money Salvation Army spent in Joplin after tornado went to expenses

In the first part of its investigation into how charities used money donated after the May 22, 2011, Joplin Tornado, KSDK in St. Louis revealed that 80 percent of the money donated to the Salvation Army to use in Joplin never got here.

The report indicated people donated $5 million to Salvation Army for Joplin, but only $1 million was used here.

The second party of the report indicates that not even that much was used to help those who were suffering after the tornado.

Out of the $1 million that made its way here, $455,000 went for expenses, including salaries.

Debbie Fort's tornado statement nowhere to be found in Joplin Globe coverage

No statement drew as much attention Monday night during the Joplin R-8 Board of Education Candidate Forum than Debbie Fort's response to incumbent board member Randy Steele's attempt to blame high teacher turnover in the Joplin School District on the tornado.

"I am sick to death of blaming the tornado," she said.

While her statement was specifically in response to a question about teacher turnover and she offered other, more logical causes for the mass exit of teachers from the district, Debbie Fort said the words that many people have been thinking for a long time- it is time to stop using the tornado as a crutch for everything.

It has been used as an excuse not only for high teacher turnover, but also for incredible overspending of taxpayer money and for sweeping changes that seem to be designed more for show than for actual educational value.

With that one sentence, Debbie Fort sounded a "stop the nonsense" rallying cry that was easily the top moment in the one hour forum.

Naturally, the quote did not make today's Joplin Globe coverage.

To be fair, reporter Emily Younker did hit some of the other high points of the forum, including Board President Jeff Flowers' comment "I think we're open and honest in everything we do," and David Guilford's retort that the board's policy on public comment is "closing the door completely on the taxpayer. I think it's wrong and it's very detrimental to our district and our students."

So why didn't Debbie Fort's comment make the pages of the area's newspaper of record?

Sadly, no entity has been move invested in prolonging the story of Joplin's continued suffering from the tornado than the Joplin Globe.

My guess is Emily Younker had no idea how Debbie Fort's line would resonate with the public.

C. J. Huff to Wisconsin educators: I didn't ask my school board for permission; I just did it

The 2009 death of an 11-year-old Joplin boy during a "drinking contest" started by his aunt and uncle was featured prominently during a speech at the January 24 Wisconsin State Education Conference in Madison.

Though the speaker did not mention the child by name, he told the story of a child who was saddled with problems the moment he was born. 

"There are some kids," he said, introducing the story, "we must get away from their mothers at birth and dads."

The speaker, C. J. Huff, said during his first year as superintendent of the Joplin R-8 School District, "I had a third grade boy, great kid. His mom and dad were absent. I think His dad was in jail; his mom was always out partying. He was left in the care of his 'in quotes' aunt and uncle. That night, the aunt challenged him to a drinking contest. Jack Daniels."

Breaking into tears, Huff said, "He died in his sleep that night. It made headline in the paper, front page stuff. The aunt and uncle were convicted. Good kid, he was raising his brother and sister. He made a mistake, a fatal mistake."

Huff indicated that the story of the boy's death and the drinking game did not make much of a splash in Joplin. It was not even on the front page of the newspaper, he said. "Our community, even though it was in the paper one time did not know that story."

Huff said he felt he had to tell these kinds of stories to let people know what he and the people in the Joplin school district have to deal with every day.

If the boy had survived the drinking contest, Huff said, "if he had not died in his sleep, he would have been taking the state assessment test with a hangover."

Huff told the Wisconsin educators they had to tell the politicians the truth about what is happening with children.

During his one hour speech, Huff told the story of the May 22, 2011, Joplin Tornado, and how he was proud of "the team I have and my school board. I will take credit for hiring some great people," he added.

Huff also recounted the story of his promise, made two days after the tornado, that school would start on time in the Joplin R-8 School District. "I didn't ask my school board for permission," he said. "I just did it."

He then talked about the work that was done to arrange temporary schools for those whose buildings were destroyed by the tornado.

After opening his presentation with stories about the tornado, Huff talked about the difference Bright Futures has made in the Joplin Schools and how much the graduation rate has gone up since he arrived in 2008.

He ended the speech, saying that though he had once considered the first day of the 2011-2012 school year to be his greatest day as an educator, it had been replaced by one he had just lived through one week earlier- the opening of the new East Middle School, Irving Elementary School, and Soaring Heights Elementary School.

Mark Rohr to Houston Chronicle: If you can handle the Joplin Tornado, you can handle anything

In an interview in today's Houston Chronicle, former Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr, who will start as the city manager of League City March 31, said League City will be in a better position because he is there: 

Rohr cited his experience in economic development and propelling the rebuilding of Joplin after the E5 tornado swept through the city in May, 2011, destroying a third of the property and killing 161 people.

Rohr said when he left office 92 percent of the homes had been rebuilt or were in the process of being rebuilt, and 90 percent of the businesses were back on track. In addition, he said the city still had $190 million in aid to spend.

"League City may not have a natural disaster - hopefully - but it will be in a better position by having me to manage it," Rohr said. "I can be a manager under difficult circumstances and manage well. You can't imagine the disarray and anxiety in circumstances when a third of your city is destroyed. If you can handle that, you can handle any circumstance that comes your way."

Realtors PAC pours $10,000 into Woolston's Joplin City Council campaign

Big money continues to come into Joplin city and school races like never before.

A few moments ago, the Re-Elect Woolston the Tornado Mayor Committee filed a 48-hour report indicating that it had received a $10,000 contribution from the Missouri Association of Realtors PAC.

The Re-Elect Woolston the Tornado Mayor Committee filed its organization papers with the Missouri Ethics Commission Friday, listing James D. Hardy, Joplin, as treasurer, and Woolston as deputy treasurer.

Woolston is one of six candidates running for three at-large council seats. Other candidates are Harvey Hutchinson, Miranda Lewis, Trisha Raney, Ryan Stanley, and Jim West.

C. J. Huff in his own words- From tornado to bond issue, obsessed with his image

E-mails sent from Joplin R-8 Superintendent C. J. Huff to his staff in the days following the May 22, 2011, Joplin Tornado through the passage of the bond issue in April of the following year show an obsession with image and control of the message, whether it be about the tornado, the bond issue, travel expenditures, or a lawsuit filed by an Atlanta company against the school district.

The e-mails also raise questions once again about the need for the destruction of the original East Middle School building and blame design changes made solely for appearance as a reason for increasing costs for the new East.

The concern for appearances is also spelled out by two e-mails sent by officials other than Huff that begin this post. The first, from his former Assistant Superintendent Angie Besendorfer five weeks before the tornado, lets faculty know that even though students would not have to make up three snow days, the faculty would be required to attend three days of professional development so the taxpayers could get their money's worth. In the final paragraph of the e-mail, Besendorfer is clearly excited by the idea that the media would provide heavy coverage since Joplin was the only school district that was having its teachers make up the days.

The second e-mail, from Traci House five days after the tornado follows up on the warning C. J. Huff sent by a recorded message to teachers three days earlier- if you talk to the media, you are guilty of insubordination and you will be fired.

Long delayed, first signing for Scars from the Tornado set for March 29

The long-delayed first signing for my book Scars from the Tornado: One Year at Joplin East Middle School, will be held 12 noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 29, at Vintage Stock on the Mall.

The book, which tells the story of Joplin East Middle School students' experiences with the May 22, 2011, tornado, and their first year in a warehouse school in a far corner of the school district, was published last March, but the first signing was never scheduled when Joplin R-8 Superintendent C. J. Huff and other upper-level administrators claimed first that I had not received permission from the parents of students who contributed to the book and then after I proved that I had, that I had not received permission from administration. (East Middle School Principal Bud Sexson was fully aware of the project and kept informed from the first, even praising the project during a meeting with PTO officers in May 2012. Both PTO officers testified during my hearing about Sexson's praise and comments, while Sexson testified he had never heard of the book until March 2013. I testified about a number of occasions when I had updated Sexson on the book, none of which he seemed to recall.)

A first signing for Scars was finally scheduled for December 1, but was postponed due to inclement weather.

The plan is to have many of the students who contributed to the book, most of whom are now Joplin High School students, attend and sign copies of the book. More information will be provided later.

League City on Rohr's firing: That's just politics; he was already a candidate for our job.

As some have surmised since former Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr was announced as a finalist for the League City city manager post, the application was in the Texas city council's hands well before the Joplin City Council voted 5-4 to fire Rohr.

It all worked out for Rohr, who was hired by a unanimous vote today.

The tumult leading up to his firing didn’t phase the League City Council.

“That’s politics,” Councilman Todd Kinsey said. “He was already a candidate for our city prior to that happening.

“(It) wouldn’t surprise me if that council found out about it and that could’ve been the catalyst for his release.”

Kinsey said he believes Rohr is a perfect fit for League City.

“He has a wide breadth of knowledge in finance, economic development, infrastructure and utilities,” Kinsey said.

“Most importantly he is proven in building partnerships, which is of critical importance in this day and age.”

Kinsey also praised Rohr’s leadership to rebuild Joplin after the 2011 tornado, but still kept the city’s debt at a minimum.

“His track record of leadership and his vast municipal experience will compliment our city staff’s expertise and council’s vision for the city,” Mayor Tim Paulissen, said.

Rohr should feel comfortable in League City since the Galveston newspaper describes the town as having a "sometimes-dysfunctional council."

Rohr is expected to start the job within the next month.

Report from Columbia: Tears flow freely during "A Night With C. J. Huff"

The quick decisive actions that R-8 Superintendent C. J. Huff took in the days after the May 22, 2011, Joplin Tornado, were the focus of his presentation at Rock Bridge High School in Columbia last week during the eagerly-awaited "Night with C. J. Huff."

The first thing Huff did after the tornado was strip all his employees of their job titles. He analyzed their strengths and weaknesses and created new job descriptions based on the overall strength of each team member. With Huff at the lead, the team moved forward as a cohesive unit instead of as individual faculty and administration.

The presentation was filled with emotion.

The 2013 Superintendent of the Year made the audience laugh, cry and evaluate the priorities their school currently maintains. He presented a slideshow that included pictures and videos of the devastation that the tornado left behind. He moved from topic to topic within the tragedy, talking calmly about the challenges that he and his community had to overcome.

Then he stopped and took a deep breath.

He tried not to, but eventually Huff began crying as he talked about the children who were injured during the storm. 

Huff also talked to the Columbians about the opening of three new schools last month:

Joplin opened three new schools this year on Jan. 9. A second-grade boy was walking down the halls on the first day of his brand new school when a teacher asked him a question.

“What do you think of the new building” she said, “Does it feel like school?”

He looked at her point blank and said, “No, it feels like happiness.”

Audio- Costa Bajjali tells how Crossland Construction brought Wallace-Bajjali to Joplin

Before and after the Wallace-Bajjali firm became the master developer for the tornado-stricken area of Joplin, we have heard from company partner David Wallace. In this audio, recorded one year after the tornado, Wallace's partner Costa Bajjali tells how the firm came into Joplin almost from the moment the tornado hit.

Video from "A Night with C. J. Huff"

Video- Wallace-Bajjali: We will have construction this there

A report from KOAM's Jordan Aubey examines the promise and performance of Joplin master developer Wallace-Bajjali. KOAM TV 7

Video- KOAM investigates Wallace-Bajjali, Joplin development

KOAM's Jordan Aubey does something the Joplin Globe has not done- he takes a look at Wallace-Bajjali and the development or lack thereof of the tornado-stricken area of Joplin. KOAM TV 7