Kenilworth kids say thanks to community By CHRISTINA BLAKENEY Staff Writer
Kenilworth Elementary School students are grateful for the support from the community during and after the recent fire, and their pictures are worth a thousand words.
To show their appreciation, the students wrote letters of gratitude and the younger students drew pictures and wrote letters in support of the community, firefighters, Masons and other officials who were willing to lend a hand.
"Dear painters, thank you for fixing up the cafeteria after the fire. It looks like the fire didn't even happen. You did an awesome job. I hope another fire doesn't happen again," wrote Cassie, a student.
Ryan writes, "Thank you for painting the cafeteria after the fire. I would like to meet you very much and shake your hand. You must of gone through a lot of paint. You did an excellent job. Thank you very, very much."
Parent liaison Chris Vaughan said that she is proud of all the people who worked together to restore the school, and prepared its doors to open for the students.
A fire was set in a small exterior closet of the school Sunday, Aug. 31, causing thousands of dollars in damage to part of the cafeteria, roof and many school and PTA supplies.
But the parents and community rallied, along with school and county maintenance staff, to have the school in working order the day after Labor Day.
"I was incredibly proud of all of our parents," said Vaughan. "They mobilized immediately and came up to the school."
"I had big envelopes stuffed with letters and it got mailed to the roofing company, the environmental company in the county ..." she said. "It was really amazing. And every opportunity we've had lately we have continued to thank our parents, it meant the world to us and to the kids."
And the community support was absolutely incredible, and it's that story they'll always remember.
"The real story is in the community support," said Vaughan. "The story of that fire really wasn't that there was a fire, it was the way the people responded to the fire."
