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Wapsie Valley 8th grade students Quinton Wehling,left, and Justin Suhr toss debris from a pickup that fellow students collected in the farm fields of Todd and Alisa Neil farm in rural Fairbank Wednesday afternoon.(RICK CHASE/ WATERLOO COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Wapsie students pitch in to clean up
By BETHANY PINT, Courier Staff Writer
FAIRBANK --- When parents and guardians choose a school for their children, they may consider the quality of teachers, the cost of attendance and the education tools available.
While community service also plays a part in many student's educational lives, nobody asks to enroll their child into the aftermath of a tornado, surrounded by debris from a friends' home, shovels, gloves, hayracks or four wheelers.
But that's what they got.
Nearly 200 student volunteers and 10 adults, including school staff, assisted at the Todd Neil and Mel Neil farms while about 20 members of the football team cleaned up in Parkersburg. Twenty more stayed in Fairbank to clean up the farms.
"We are Wapsie Valley Community Schools," Principal Chad Garber said. "It's important to give these kids the opportunity to take part in community service."
And the seventh- through 11th-graders who participated were happy to be a part of the clean-up efforts on the farms.
"I'm glad I came out here - their house has been destroyed and it's been fun (to help)," 11th-grader Derrick Murphy said.
Katy Moen, a sophomore at Wapsie, said she'd never done anything like this.
"I thought it would be a good cause to help out because we're family friends," Moen said.
Carol Woods, the mother of Christian and Amy Woods, both of whom helped with the clean-up efforts, said she had no doubts about sending her kids out to help.
"It's just one of those things that you can't teach in the classroom," she said.
Oran First Responder Glenda Kane, who initiated the day-long event, said it just made sense to call Wapsie Valley for help.
"We needed a large group - and that was the best way to get one going," Kane said.
"The elementary school is doing a clothing drive for all the kids --- it gives all of them something to do. The whole school system is contributing."
Although they didn't do it for the recognition, the work the students and adults performed didn't go unnoticed.
Alisa Neil, Todd Neil's wife, said the support since the tornado has been overwhelming. With two kids, Cole, 4, and Ellie, 6, the family was homeless after the storm.
Neil said they stayed with the Greg and Lori Beierschmitt family, their neighbor to the north, and would be moving that night into a rent-free home provided by Kevin Kaufmann.
Contact Bethany Pint
at bethany.pint@wcfcourier.com or (319) 291-1587.
While community service also plays a part in many student's educational lives, nobody asks to enroll their child into the aftermath of a tornado, surrounded by debris from a friends' home, shovels, gloves, hayracks or four wheelers.
But that's what they got.
Nearly 200 student volunteers and 10 adults, including school staff, assisted at the Todd Neil and Mel Neil farms while about 20 members of the football team cleaned up in Parkersburg. Twenty more stayed in Fairbank to clean up the farms.
"We are Wapsie Valley Community Schools," Principal Chad Garber said. "It's important to give these kids the opportunity to take part in community service."
And the seventh- through 11th-graders who participated were happy to be a part of the clean-up efforts on the farms.
"I'm glad I came out here - their house has been destroyed and it's been fun (to help)," 11th-grader Derrick Murphy said.
Katy Moen, a sophomore at Wapsie, said she'd never done anything like this.
"I thought it would be a good cause to help out because we're family friends," Moen said.
Carol Woods, the mother of Christian and Amy Woods, both of whom helped with the clean-up efforts, said she had no doubts about sending her kids out to help.
"It's just one of those things that you can't teach in the classroom," she said.
Oran First Responder Glenda Kane, who initiated the day-long event, said it just made sense to call Wapsie Valley for help.
"We needed a large group - and that was the best way to get one going," Kane said.
"The elementary school is doing a clothing drive for all the kids --- it gives all of them something to do. The whole school system is contributing."
Although they didn't do it for the recognition, the work the students and adults performed didn't go unnoticed.
Alisa Neil, Todd Neil's wife, said the support since the tornado has been overwhelming. With two kids, Cole, 4, and Ellie, 6, the family was homeless after the storm.
Neil said they stayed with the Greg and Lori Beierschmitt family, their neighbor to the north, and would be moving that night into a rent-free home provided by Kevin Kaufmann.
Contact Bethany Pint
at bethany.pint@wcfcourier.com or (319) 291-1587.
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