With a few trees here and some power washing there, the K-State campus has gradually regained a sense of normalcy after the June 11 tornado, and university officials said workers’ efforts will result in all buildings being ready for classes by the start of the fall semester.
Bruce Shubert, associate vice president for administration and finance, said the clean-up effort has shifted from securing buildings temporarily to fixing them permanently.
“Our immediate goal was to make the buildings safe and weather-tight,” he said. “That's where you saw workers removing debris and boarding up windows. Now we're making progress with permanent repairs.”
In addition to debris removal and window replacement, Division of Facilities workers have been making roof repairs and fixing heating and ventilating units, and Shubert said all campus buildings are ready for students.
“Except for a couple rooms in Weber [Hall], all rooms and spaces are usable,” he said.
Shubert said most work will be done before school starts, with only a few projects taking longer. The passageway between Durland and Fielder Halls in the Engineering Complex sustained extensive structural damage and will not be finished for a few months. Shubert emphasized, however, that the buildings would be open and classes would proceed as normal during construction.
The nuclear reactor in Ward Hall, which has been secure since the night of the tornado, currently has a metal skin on it and more permanent protection will be installed soon, Shubert said.
“It may not be replaced by the time school starts, but it’s on order and should be here shortly,” he said.
Another important aspect of the campus clean-up has been more aesthetic than structural. Planting 25 trees in a high-traffic area on Claflin Road has improved campus morale, President Jon Wefald said.
“[The trees] are just to show we’re ready to go when students come back, that we’re still here,” he said.
Wefald said out of approximately 5,000 trees on campus, 150 were lost from storm damage. Though summer is not the typical time to plant trees, the administration wanted to replace trees in a visible area to demonstrate how much progress has been made and to make the storm’s damage less noticeable, he said.
To help remove small debris from campus buildings, Wefald arranged for 69 buildings to be power washed.
About 32 buildings have been washed so far, and the rest will be done before school starts. Wefald said he has been impressed by the results.
“[The buildings] are just illuminated,” he said.
As repairs continue and the university receives proposals for work, Shubert said the initial estimate of $20 million in damages has not changed yet. To help with those costs, the KSU Foundation established the K-State Tornado Relief Fund.
Julie Lea, vice president of communications for the Foundation, said the fund has received 550 gifts for a total of $280,372. Of that amount, $50,000 came from ConocoPhillips and $150,000 came from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation. Lea said both organizations are frequent contributors to K-State scholarship funds.
On the day after the storm hit, Lea said the Foundation sent an e-mail to 63,000 friends and donors in its database. In the first four days of its existence, individual donations to the fund totaled $50,000, with the remaining $30,000 coming in the following month.
“It’s really been an inspiring response,” Lea said. “$80,00 from individuals — that’s enough to actually make a difference.”
Inspiration is just the feeling Wefald said he hopes students experience when they return to campus next month.
“Except for when these buildings were built, I would guess the campus has never been cleaner,” he said. “I think people will be shocked when they come back, look around and say, ‘What tornado?’”
Campus almost back to normal after tornado
Published: Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Updated: Wednesday, July 30, 2008
 "Photo: Kansas Stat Collegian: Nathaniel LaRue")
Kansas Stat Collegian: Nathaniel LaRue
 "Photo: Kansas Stat Collegian: Nathaniel LaRue")
Kansas Stat Collegian: Nathaniel LaRue
5 comments
Jim Bell from Alabama
K-State has always had a trremendous reputation of coming together and that includes the community of Manhattan and the State of Kansas. I'm sure all will be dedicated to see that the campus and Manhattan is safe and in shape for the arrival of students. My experience of when I lived there showed me just how great the people of the Midwest are when there is a need!
Mike
Cleaning up after a tornado is no small accomplishment and a complicated undertaking. The article is deservedly proud of the efforts of K-State and all the staff and contract workers that made it happen. My question is about the money. The damage estimate is $20 million. Individual collections to the Foundation total 1% of that. How much is the state contributing? How much is covered by insurance? What remains to be done? What is the actual cost of repairs to date and what is the cost of the work remaining? While I share the pride in getting this work done, I don't understand the finances of a disaster. I would be interested in learning more about how a public institution recovers financially from a tornado. Whether it's individuals rebuilding in Chapman or New Orleans, businesses reopening, or a government or public institution, we've seen a lot of disaster recovery lately, and I don't understand how some recover so well and others are destroyed by natural disasters. It would be great to see an in-depth follow up report.
Mike
Cleaning up after a tornado is no small accomplishment and a complicated undertaking. The article is deservedly proud of the efforts of K-State and all the staff and contract workers that made it happen. My question is about the money. The damage estimate is $20 million. Individual collections to the Foundation total 1% of that. How much is the state contributing? How much is covered by insurance? What remains to be done? What is the actual cost of repairs to date and what is the cost of the work remaining? While I share the pride in getting this work done, I don't understand the finances of a disaster. I would be interested in learning more about how a public institution recovers financially from a tornado. Whether it's individuals rebuilding in Chapman or New Orleans, businesses reopening, or a government or public institution, we've seen a lot of disaster recovery lately, and I don't understand how some recover so well and others are destroyed by natural disasters. It would be great to see an in-depth follow up report.
Egao No Genki
"What Tornado?"It'd better be THAT clean when I come back to K-State right before the start of Fall.
James Lampone
Wow Im not even smart enough to get into KState, but I could easily write an article better than this.
