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SUNNY Temp: 41 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Thursday, November 28, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend September 4, 2002 Eagle Point Middle School sixth-grade social studies teacher Mindy Lilly, left, and science teacher Kathy Helgeson sort through materials donated by a retired teacher. Local residents have donated supplies to cover materials lost in the school fire last Thursday. Click the photo to see a larger (36k) version. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Related story: � On the first day of school, Medford classrooms are jammed Donations buoy teachers in Eagle Point Fire at middle school prompts an outpouring of supplies and money By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune EAGLE POINT — After the middle school was destroyed in a fire last week, Jackson County residents have sent scissors, staplers, books and even cash to help teachers refit their classrooms. "We had some teachers who lost everything," said Katherine Leppek, a teacher at Little Butte Elementary. The school, which has become the collecting point, has received 25 donations or calls from people wishing to donate. Teachers lost their personal effects as well as textbooks and other items in the Thursday blaze, which gutted the sixth-grade classrooms. Now they have to start anew as they prepare for double shifts at the high school on Sept. 16. While insurance might eventually cover many of their losses, teachers are scrambling to get desks, file cabinets and other materials needed to reopen class. The Eagle Point Education Association has donated $1,000, and other residents have sent the school smaller donations ranging from $30 to $50. Some have sent them books and other materials. "We’re lending them 133 math textbooks," said Dale Rooklyn, principal at Ashland Middle School. Linda Crawford, who retired as a teacher from Oak Grove Elementary in Medford last school year, had a garage filled with supplies that she donated Tuesday. "I said, shoot, they’re sitting here in the garage and I don’t need them and nobody that I worked with before needed them. So I said, ‘Here you go,’ " said Crawford. "They don’t have a lot of value to anyone unless they are teaching that curriculum." But the teachers who opened the boxes welcomed the contents, including the Tupperware containers, books and folders. "We’ll be needing this," joked Mindy Lilly, sixth-grade social studies teacher, who held up a book titled "Maintaining Sanity in a Classroom." Lilly said many of the materials she will be able to use for her students. "I had these books before they were destroyed," she said. Another teacher, Kathy Helgeson, said she had barely put all her belongings in the middle school before the fire broke out. Previously, she, like many other sixth-grade teachers, had taught at an elementary school. Now she’ll have to move again, setting up a new classroom at the high school, but she’ll have to share it with another teacher. "I’ll be teaching science in a math classroom," she said. Helgeson said teachers appreciated the extra week to get ready for their students on Sept. 16. "It alleviates some of the stress of rushing," she said. "We don’t even have our classrooms ready yet." Teachers haven’t worked out all the particulars about how they’re going to be sharing classrooms, but Helgeson said, "The high school staff made us feel welcome." For more information on donations, call 830-6114. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S