Patrick Youel/Special to Portage Sports

By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Southeast High School’s gymnasium will have a new look by summer.

Not by choice, though.

The hardwood floor was the victim of severe water damage after a roof leak in early April that was caused by a microburst storm.

(A microburst is an intense downdraft of wind that forms inside of a thunderstorm and thrusts down out of the sky, producing damaging straight-line winds that sometimes exceed 100 miles per hour).

“The storm came through and ripped off the rubber coating that covers the roof and water just started coming in,” Southeast athletic director and assistant principal Patrick Youel said.

It happened while the district was on Spring Break, but there was a school board meeting that same night, as well as the Southeast baseball and softball teams returning back to the school after playing in Garrettsville against Garfield.

Youel was first alerted of the situation by baseball coach Matt Dillon.

“He sent me a text, in all caps that said, ‘CALL ME NOW!’,” Youel said.

The Southeast High School gymnasium is shown shortly after all of the hardwood floor was ripped up.
Melinda Furr/Special to Portage Sports

Youel, along with Superintendent Bob Dunn, principal Steve Sigworth, Palmyra Township Fire Chief Mark Garvin, school treasurer Samantha Pochedly and a roofing professional from Tremolo quickly assessed the damage the same night of the storm, but with more dangerous weather forecasted, “there was not a lot that could be done at the time, to be honest, for the safety of everyone,” Youel said.

As the storm continued, the district’s maintenance team worked to squeegee and remove as much water as quickly as they could, but ultimately, the water covered the gym and soaked underneath the floor boards.

“So much water was getting under the floor that night that the gym floor was already showing signs of warping by 9:30 p.m.,” Youel said. “By the next morning, the floor was wavy all the way across.”

Just three days later, and after an insurance adjustor evaluated the damage as a total loss, the process began to remove the entire floor all the way down to its concrete base.

The gym floor had just been sanded down, painted with a new design and finished just four years ago.

“Our plan now is to work as hard as we can to get the new floor in by the summer,” Youel said. “The design is a work in progress, and we will put together a committee to work though that process. We have some ideas.”

Microbursts, unfortunately, are not new at Southeast and the consequential damages that they can cause.

“It is the third one for sure that has been identified in the recent past,” Youel said. “The other ones ripped down our baseball dugouts and another destroyed the old ‘crow’s nest’ press box on the visitor’s side of the football field.

“One thing I know, and I have seen it so many times, is that this school district and our communities, we support each other every single day, but when it comes to times like these, we always shine in the toughest times,” Youel added.

Southeast Physical Education teacher Melinda Furr has adjusted her daily agenda to navigate the situation.

While the weather has cooperated some, which has allowed her classes to shift to outside activities, Furr has also created a game room in the school, as well, including foose ball, air hockey, and more.

• Editor’s Note: If you would like to learn more about how you can help Melinda Furr’s adjusted classroom needs, email her at mfurr@sepirates.org.