North Dakota operation takes action during massive flood

MINOT, N.D. — Last month, the Souris River here rose, resulting in a massive flood that damaged much of the city. As the flood began to affect the area around Minot Public Schools, the district’s transportation personnel and other employees rallied together to empty as many schools as possible.

Barry Brooks, director of purchasing and transportation, told SBF in an interview that everything from school buses to vans to a tractor-trailer were used to transport library books, band instruments, appliances and other equipment from seven schools to the transportation facility, which was not damaged by the flood. (One of the schools is a two-story building, so some supplies were taken to the second floor, away from the rising water.)

“I’m extremely proud of everybody who helped. We had mechanics, bus drivers, bus aides, plumbers, carpenters, custodians and parent volunteers. They were very responsive; some of the people lost their homes, but they still came out to help,” Brooks said, adding that using wheelchair lift-equipped school buses made loading large items, such as appliances, much easier.

However, Brooks, who has never worked in a flood before, also noted that transporting the materials in the vehicles was difficult, as water was moving quickly in the roads.

Contractors and members of the National Guard were called in to build dirt dikes to try to protect schools from the water. For one of the district’s elementary schools, helicopter missions were performed to drop 83 1,000-pound sandbags to shore up the dike.

As of last week, Brooks said that 500 to 600 National Guard members were continuing to assist with the recovery effort. They’re living in one of the district’s high schools and are receiving support and supplies from personnel district-wide.

In addition to emptying schools, the district’s transportation personnel have reached out to members of the community.

“Initially, two shelters were set up, but one of the shelters lost water, so they moved everyone to one shelter, which is a facility at Minot State University. On a daily basis, we’ve been transporting kids who are staying there and taking them to playgrounds. On the 4th of July, we transported some people from the shelter to watch fireworks,” Brooks said.

A flood control center has also been established, and Brooks has been asked if his shop can be used to store bottled water, so he has prepared for that.

Moreover, a state fair will be held in the city later this month to provide a reprieve for residents, and the Minot Public Schools transportation department may provide bus service for the event.

Brooks said that while the flooding started after the school year ended, it has had an impact on the district. All summer school sessions were canceled, and in spite of the dikes that were constructed, several schools, an adult learning center and an alternative learning center were inundated with water.

Illustrating the magnitude of the flood, Brooks said that a 22-foot dike was built around Erik Ramstad Middle School and the water breached it.

“Right now, that school is still under water. It is starting to recede, but we know there’s structural damage to the school,” he added.

The district and its transportation department face numerous challenges in the coming weeks as employees prepare for the 2011-12 school year, which starts at the end of August.

Brooks said the district will contract with restoration teams so that schools and buildings affected by the flood can be inspected, repaired and cleaned to ensure they are safe and function properly. District officials believe that Erik Ramstad Middle School and an elementary school that sustained severe water damage will not be repaired in time to accommodate students for the school year.

“The question now is where we’re going to put those students. Erik Ramstad has about 547 students, and the elementary school has about 160 students. We’ve been brainstorming some options and one is that we can get some trailers from FEMA, so we’re looking into that,” he added.

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For his part, Brooks anticipates that the transportation department will be providing school bus service to 700 to 900 additional students whose families have been displaced by the flood or whose school has been damaged by the water. He said that the transportation staff is attempting to gather as much information as possible from parents about their current whereabouts and their plans for getting their children back to school.

In conjunction with transporting more students, Brooks will have to purchase more buses, but at this point, he’s not sure how many he’ll need and where he’ll buy them.

“The other issue is getting bus drivers. I could get a driver and train him or her, but it might take me two months to get a written driver’s test because with the oil boom in the city, there’s a backlog of people trying to get their CDLs. We’ll have to work with our Department of Public Instruction to try and get this to be a priority,” Brooks said.