When the roof of Kaminsky Gymnasium collapsed during the tornado that struck Joplin on May 22, the Joplin High School Athletic Boosters lost tens of thousands of dollars of equipment that had been donated to the athletic department in recent years.
No one knows for sure what might be covered by the school district’s insurance or what expenses might be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Dan McCreary, president of the booster club.
Access to the school and gymnasium is limited to a handful of specially trained disaster responders because the buildings are unstable and because of the presence of asbestos and other hazardous materials, he said.
“I think the best hope is they have good insurance,” McCreary said. “The booster club isn’t big enough to replace all the equipment that was lost. I don’t think we’ll be pulling our popcorn machine out of there.”
He said the booster club has raised, and spent, an average of $50,000 a year in recent years. Among the losses are $20,000 for lockers purchased two years ago for the boys’ locker room, digital video equipment valued at nearly $7,000 and various accessories used by the athletic teams and coaches.
The booster club’s ability to raise money during the school year through sales at concession stands was affected as well, he said. The concession stand and other facilities at Junge Field, home of the football team, were not damaged, but the concession stands at the gymnasium and between the baseball and soccer fields were destroyed.
“In an hour meeting when we met post-tornado, that was one of the things we talked about,” he said. “Two of three facilities are gone. Those were the major fund-raising things we had.”
While most game sites, other than football, have not been determined, the basketball and volleyball teams would practice downtown at Memorial Hall under a proposal that will go before the City Council on Monday.
Academic classes for juniors and seniors will be at the former Shopko store at Northpark Mall, while freshmen and sophomores will attend Memorial Education Center, a block away from Memorial Hall.
Because all of the athletic facilities at the high school were destroyed — baseball, softball and soccer fields and scoreboards along with tennis courts — any solution would require new sites and possibly fewer home games, McCreary said.
The boys’ soccer team will practice at Missouri Southern and play its home games at the Joplin Athletic Complex, said head coach Ed Miller. The soccer camp held last week attracted 17 players.
“I don’t know if they don’t know about it or if they’re not coming back or what,” Miller said. “I don’t know what the story is. I’m hoping to have more than 17 players.”
The team is using soccer balls and uniforms that were donated by people in the St. Louis area, he said. Another soccer camp is scheduled for the week of July 25.
Two of the booster club’s projects in the near term are the football team’s golf tournament on July 29 and sales of new T-shirts, McCreary said.
One bright spot for the booster club is that new weight-training equipment, which cost $30,000, had been ordered but was not delivered before the tornado struck.
“It’s now at Memorial (the former middle school). That equipment is being set up now,” McCreary said. “It’s limited right now. We don’t have enough plates. Webb City is allowing the Joplin kids to work out there, which is terrific.
“We were excited as a booster club,” he said. “We thought weight equipment would help all the athletic teams.”
The equipment includes new racks, which are used to hold the weights, and new benches.
“It’s a nice, heavy-duty piece of equipment like some colleges have,” he said.
Booster club vice president Jeff Herr is working to get a web site set up that would allow for direct donations to the booster club, McCreary said, and the club has received some donations.
“To sum up my perspective, it’s a challenge,” he said, “but it’s an exciting time to see neighborhoods, cities, states and the whole country coming together.”
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Related Photos
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President Barack Obama and Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon tour the damage near Joplin High School created by the May 22 tornado.
Discussion
July 17, 2011
JHS Athletic Boosters lose sources of income in tornado
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Outlaws open season Thursday on the road
Chris Oldner takes a cut during the Joplin Outlaws practice Tuesday afternoon. The Outlaws open their season on Thursday night at Rossville and play seven road games before their home opener on June 5.
The Joplin Outlaws and new coach Rob Vessell have set some lofty goals for the 2012 baseball season.
Continued ... - Stanton’s homers fuel Marlins’ surge in May
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- Pittsburg State Sports
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- Vengels sixth in heptathlon; PSU picks up two seventh-place finishes
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- Missouri Southern Sports
- High School Sports
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Area athletes turn shine at state meet
Webb City's Jarvis Jones takes sixth in the 200.
- Cleo Elbert steps down at Thomas Jefferson
- Frontenac wins first state baseball title
- Joplin's Jeremy Lynn takes fifth at state tennis
- Frontenac advances at state baseball
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