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“Whenever they told us to evacuate, I just left and tried to go to my papaw's, and I couldn't get down there because the whole road was flooded. I went down to Greeneville, and then to my aunt's house. Two days later, we were able to get down there because they opened all the roads,� he said.

As the 2024-25 school year comes to a close, Washington County Schools students like Casey and district educators say they’ll never forget how the local community pulled together in response to the devastation left by Helene. 

Casey, who was just one of many local students affected, said community donation drives and relief efforts spearheaded by the district and South Central Elementary have provided a lifeline for his family in the weeks and months since the floods hit the South Central area. He said it was moving to see the community pull together for others displaced by the storm.

“When I walked into South Central, there were 20 people coming to me asking what we needed and everything,� he said.

Casey said his family found refuge living with his grandfather in the months since the flooding destroyed their home. He added that the family is currently waiting for their new home to be constructed, courtesy of a group of Mennonites from Pennsylvania who heard of his family’s situation and offered to build them a new home.

The family expects to move into the new home before the end of the month.

“The community really helped a lot,� he said. 

'A Community Hub'

David Crockett Principal Ashley Keys said she was also struck by how the school district and county community pulled together to help one another, as well as how many volunteers from outside of the region offered to lend a helping hand to families like the Caseys after Helene. 

She said schools like David Crockett High School and South Central Elementary in particular worked together to play a role in local relief efforts. However, Keys said the area near South Central Elementary near where Casey lived was among the most devastated parts of the county. Since residents there had been cut off to other parts of the district, Keys said South Central Elementary played a central role in district relief efforts and donation drives.

“We quickly transitioned [David Crockett] to a community hub that had all of the resources. We did donations, and we were sheltering families in our gym. We opened locker rooms for showers and manned this school for 24 hours a day to do whatever needed to be done,� she said. “I was not trained to run a community resource center, but we learned early on how to do that to support our kids and our families.�

“We didn't have to ask for volunteers. We had hundreds of people show up asking, ‘Where do you need me?’�

'South Central Strong'

The flooding from Helene left several roads and bridges with significant damage that’s still yet to be repaired amid ongoing work from the Tennessee Department of Transportation, according to local officials. Much of this damage occurred in the South Central area.

South Central Principal J.W. McKinney said the devastation of the storm and local community response that followed has had a “profound impact� on students and the district as a whole. He added that a group of students at South Central recently published a book, “South Central Strong: A Story of Resilience,� which recounts their experiences and reflections about the experience.

“I feel like it’s helped some mature and see what they can do as a group and how they can impact each other in a greater capacity. That's really been something I'm very proud of with them, is how they have stepped up and helped each other,� he said, noting that many students took part in local relief efforts over the past school year.

McKinney said local school officials will continue taking donations to help families in need amid local recovery efforts. He said the district has raised about $77,000 in total to help about 20 district student families directly impacted by the flood in ways similar to Casey’s story.

McKinney said he believes local response efforts are “going to take some time,� due to the devastation of the storm on roads and local infrastructure. He said much of that damage in particular has yet to be repaired as of this week.

“There's been a lot of organizations who have stepped up and they continue to step up, from local agencies to churches and volunteers, and they've all been very committed to not only the short-term assistance, but also navigating those challenges of long-term recovery. I think that long-term recovery will continue, and we still have families who are not settled,� he said.

McKinney said the district plans to continue taking donations to help displaced families and others with remaining needs.

“Just make a donation to the school by check, for the school's mercy fund. In that way, we can directly put money into the hands of families who need help,� he said.