 |
Photo Credit-Ronnie Cole
Taken At 4:05a.m. April 1 of SAHS fire. |
On April Fools Day 2015, our city was rocked by a tragedy that was no laughing matter. At about 3 a.m. South Albany High School's cafeteria was set ablaze by an arsonist. The fire destroyed the cafeteria,band and choir rooms.
The majority of social media on April 1, were pictures of the blaze and words of hurt eventually turning to care and support.
The Facebook page South Albany Alumni and Community (Oregon) was buzzing with folks trying to find ways to help the school before the fire was even out.
In the hours after the fire, something amazing happened, an outpouring of support from not only the community of Albany, but, surrounding communities and even a celebrity with local roots.
The band Journey's drummer Deen Castronovo, who grew up in Keizer, Ore, donated $10,000 to help the music department replace some of the instruments lost in the fire.
Liby Pascua said, "When I first heard about the fire, it made me cry. After all I too attended SAHS and now one of my daughters do. I'm very happy to see all the community pulling together. I't just goes to show, you can't keep a REBEL down."
Linn-Benton Community College's own Dr. James M. Reddan, chair, faculty of music and the director of choral activities said,"My first thoughts when I found out about the fire and what had happened was sorrow."
"To see something like this happen to a school in our community is awful! Music is such an inspiring force that brings students, families, and communities together. It is such a huge loss, but the outpouring of support has been wonderful to see," said Reddan
"The first thing I could do was get in touch with the directors, find out what they need, and see what I, our students, and our program could do to help." said Reddan "
"I also was concerned for my current students who are alumni of SAHS music program and have been keeping them in my thoughts. As I know this is tragic for them, being that it was a place that helped to spark their continued musical growth and love for music prior to coming to LBCC," said Reddan.
Reddan has put the choir director of SAHS in touch with the choral director at the Lutheran Church across the street from the school as she is an LBCC music alumni and they are working something out, especially for early morning classes.
"They did provide a meeting space for the students to attend the League Choral Festival on Thursday and have offered assistance as has the LBCC Choral Program," said Reddan
Band teacher Isaac Andrew said all of their instruments were lost to the fire.
Choir teacher Brett DeYoung reported the loss of the whole sheet music library, 80 brand-new choir robes, and all materials they would have sent on to state.
SAHS was the main kitchen for the district, they cooked breakfast and lunches for about seven other schools.
Twenty-eight-year old Zachary Burghart told the police he started the fire at SAHS by tossing a lit cigarette into a trash bin and crashed his vehicle into gates around the school.
Court documents filed in Linn County Circuit Court,said Burghart acknowledged starting a travel-trailer fire that resulted in a propane tank exploding at a nearby residence shortly after.
There are so many businesses and individuals making contributions and support to the rebuilding of SAHS.
The Greater Albany Public School (GAPS) District Assistant Superintendent, Tonya Everest, have stressed the importance of being transparent in everything being done for South Albany's Rebuild project.
Their insurance policy is anticipated to cover the reconstruction of the physical building as well as replace much of the contents within that building.
What is still unknown is how they will handle property that is personal or could be considered personal in nature.
Content of several school classrooms (Home Economics, Child Development, Band, and Choir) and several school programs (Cheer, Dance, And Leadership) were destroyed along with multi-school fundraiser materials.
Compiling the list of loss will be quite a task.
