photo by: Joselyn King

Elm Grove Elementary Principal Rick Dunlevy recounts before Ohio County Board of Education members his decision to open the school facility as an emergency shelter following June 14 flooding in the county.

Ohio County Board of Education members praised the leadership of Elm Grove Elementary School Principal Richard Dunlevy and his decision to open the school as an emergency shelter following last week’s flooding in Ohio County.

Discussion about the flood was the main focus of Monday night’s board meeting, which was held in Wheeling City Council chambers at the City-County Building. The Ohio County Schools central office and the board of education meeting room both sustained heavy flood damage, necessitating the temporary relocation of the central office to Steenrod Elementary School.

“When all the flooding was going on, I was listening to the fire department radio,” Dunlevy told board members. “At that point, I realized they needed emergency shelter.”

He texted Wheeling Fire Chief James Blazier and Ohio County Sheriff Nelson Croft and asked if he should open the school as a shelter. Croft texted back immediately and told him he should.

“I can walk to the building. I was there within 10 minutes,” Dunlevy continued. “Before I was even in the building I had tons of people texting me. So many members of the community were there helping us. I wasn’t down there 20 minutes when the next thing I heard was they needed buses.”

He contacted Operations Director David Crumm, who then contacted bus driver John MacLeod to assist. His bus transported community members from the Wheeling Subaru lot to the school.

Dunlevy reported the school provided shelter to as many as 30 people that evening, with about five staying through the night. The Elm Grove McDonald’s offered breakfast to those who remained.

Others stayed in the parking lot, hoping to reunite with loved ones from whom they had been separated, Dunlevy said.

Several people were on oxygen tanks, he noted, and volunteers used items found outside to build a makeshift kennel to accommodate families who came with their dogs.

“The next thing I know we’re grilling hot dogs, and we have a popcorn machine going,” Dunlevy said. “We have people coming covered with mud, and we are feeding them. … It was a long, stressful night, but there were many people who stepped up and helped out.”

The school went on to provide counseling services all last week to those needing it, and staff at Elm Grove Elementary checked on the families of students they believed were affected. The population of Middle Creek Elementary School was hit the hardest, and Principal Katrina Lewis also was active in the community helping students and their families, according to Dunlevy.

Superintendent Kim Miller added the school district’s counselors will continue to assist those who need it.

“It’s very sad we are in this position, but I’m so proud we had so many people who came together for our community,” she said.

Miller told board members the central office building has “lost everything.” She commended Panhandle Restoration and Cleaning for working quickly to pack items and remove them.

“This was a very devastating flash flood that had an impact on our community that is going to last for a very, very long time,” Miller said.

In other matters, board members unanimously approved a contract with Monteverde’s Produce of Pittsburgh to provide the estimated needed produce for the school district’s nutrition system for the coming school year. The contract is for $1,574,460, and Ohio County Schools will be reimbursed for the cost through a National School Lunch Program grant.

The board also unanimously agreed to the purchase of a large dishwashing machine for the nutrition department that will be placed at Wheeling Park High School. The conveyor style dishwasher costs $92,054, and is being purchased from National Equipment Company in Wheeling.

The board will next meet at 6 p.m. on July 14 at a location to be determined.