Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland announced Wednesday that he will not seek Federal Emergency Management Agency aid in cleaning up wreckage from nine tornadoes that ripped through eight counties in the southeast corner of the state last Thursday, stating that the scope of the damage won't meet FEMA thresholds. But there's still plenty of cleaning up to do. Among the areas hit hard was Athens High School in The Plains, which was hosting a girls' soccer game against Albany's Alexander High on Sept. 16 when tornado sirens sounded in the middle of a lightning delay.
The public address announcer instructed players and fans to gather in the football locker room and concessions stand as coaches helped facilitate the process, according to Stephen Spiewak, a writer for MaxPreps.com. Athens athletic director Chuck Robinson was in the school gymnasium at the time, watching a volleyball game. Shortly after the sirens sounded, the lights went out, and volleyball players, coaches and fans were herded into inner-building classrooms.
The violent tornado ripped two HVAC units from the top of the school's roof, demolished the field's press box, took half of the concessions stand's roof, flipped over bleachers, leveled the scoreboard, mangled the goal posts and scattered debris everywhere - as depicted in this haunting video:
No major injuries were reported, and Robinson reportedly is discussing playing Athens High's remaining home soccer and football games at neighboring schools or Ohio University. Meanwhile, donation boxes were set up at Chillicothe High's Herrnstein Field on Saturday when the school (untouched by the tornado) hosted the Athens football team. Athens coaches then took the donated supplies back to The Plains to, as Associated Press reporter Rusty Miller put it, "help out those with more immediate demands than where to play a game."
