Students return to school in tornado-damaged town

BURKE, S.D. (AP) – Students are returning to school in a South Dakota town that was torn apart by a tornado early last month.

The Burke School District welcomed students back Wednesday after delaying the start of classes by two weeks as it dealt with heavy damage to part of its campus. The elementary side of the school building fared pretty well, but some of the middle and high school rooms were destroyed.

So for now, band and music classes will be held at the town’s churches. Administrative offices have been moved to a local hospital. And volleyball players will use the courts at a school district 30 minutes away.

Winds of up to 100 mph destroyed a lumberyard, mangled the civic center and injured two people on Aug. 6 .

AP-WF-09-05-19