Freedom High rebuilds fields with community support

When Freedom High School administration returned to the school post-Helene, most of the athletic fields were submerged underwater.

A year later, they are putting the finishing touches on the baseball field and finalizing their long climb back to functionality.

“You could not imagine the level of devastation, until you actually were boots on the ground down there,” said Freedom Principal Shanda Epley.

Director of Auxiliary Services Dr. Bob Acord said, “The mud and the smell — it was basically like you picked up the concession stand and the field house and turned it upside down and shook it.”

As the water overcame the buildings by the sports facilities, it pushed the ceiling grids up and out, dissolving the ceiling tiles and carrying items such as coolers into the rafters. The onslaught from the river deposited debris across the baseball and football fields, collecting approximately 750 tons of silt and sediment against the windscreen.

“When Servpro came in and cleaned everything out,” Acord said, “We took off the ends of the [fieldhouse] — all the gabled ends — so that the air could go through it. All that was left on the inside was masonry at that point … basically just started from scratch.”

Acord led the maintenance team, who constructed cabinets and installed new equipment in the buildings. The maintenance crew switched ruined items for easily transportable replacements.

In the event of future floods, Freedom hopes to avoid the approximate $2 million worth of materials and contracted labor that they paid up-front to repair — much of which they have not received back.

“FEMA’s worked with us,” Acord said, “We’re turning it into our insurance, so it’s not all washed out yet.”

According to Epley, however, the bill could have been much higher. Athletic Director Rob Scott lost his childhood home in the Hurricane Frances flooding of 2004 and remembered the high school fields being overcome with water at the same time.

Due to his memory of the expected lake levels during that disaster, Scott acted quickly, calling together the coaches and moving much of the equipment up the hill.

“The peak level in ’04 was 106 (feet) something. I looked earlier that week, and they were calling 110-plus lake levels,” Scott said. “I knew what a 106 level at the lake looked like — if they were calling for 110, I knew it was not going to be very good.”

Scott was hesitant to accept commendation from the principal, insisting that his contribution was only a drop in the bucket.

“They loaded buses up with all of our equipment, and brought it to the top,” Epley said. “And thank goodness — that was hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment that was saved because of his thought.”

Every member of the faculty shared in Scott’s aversion of praise, insisting they were only a cog in a larger machine. District Athletic Director Casey Rogers weighed in, pointing to the community as integral to the cleanup and recovery process.

“You had a lot of folks that came together,” Rogers said, “And forgot about other stuff for a while and just said, ‘It’s about what’s best for kids and what’s best for schools.’”

While administrative teams managed field repairs, the students leapt into service as well. Between the agriculture and construction programs, students went into the community, assisting in flooded homes and rebuilding.

Epley explained that Lincolnton Airport started sending supplies to the school, which were distributed by school counselors via the auxiliary gym. Rutherford Electric and other contractors slept in the gym for weeks, leaving the schools early each day to begin repairs across the affected communities.

“People showed up,” she said, “On the days that we had no school, we had staff that showed up to help distribute supplies … It was just really kind of a grassroots effort.”

As schools opened back up, students returned to normalcy rather than a faculty focused on disaster. Public Relations Officer Cheryl Shuffler explained the closeness between administration and the students, and how it allowed school to just be school.

“Our principals and our counselors and teachers — we’re real big on building that relationship with students,” Shuffler said. “Our people know who is going to be most affected by the anniversary coming up this week, and I think they’ll be there to give extra support where needed.”

Epley explained that counselors performed home checks on students who weren’t easily contacted after the storm, confirming the safety of their families and offering supplies when necessary.

As the initial shock of Helene wore down, the school diverted its attention to repair and maintenance on the fields. Professional groundskeeper Steve Peeler stepped in to lead the rehabilitation of the facilities, utilizing his extensive background with six Major League Baseball teams’ turf management.

A 1986 graduate of Freedom, Peeler’s interest in returning the school to its previous state dates back decades.

“I got detention when I was in my senior year here. So, if I can pay it back,” he joked. Peeler rattled jokes and witticisms with each minute, but his role and impact were repeatedly highlighted by the faculty.

“We were very fortunate to have his level of expertise to guide us through the entire process,” Rogers said. “When to be on [the field], when not to be on there.”

Ultimately, the final call on whether a field graduation ceremony could happen fell on Peeler. Due to the right weather conditions and a properly recovering field, Peeler gave his blessing.

“We consulted him,” Epley said, “And we trusted his judgment in making the right decision to keep our kids safe … Everything we did came down to students’ safety.”

As the anniversary of Helene comes and goes, the work isn’t finished. Freedom finally opened its football field back up on the night of the annual football jamboree, when all four high school football teams came together for a preseason exhibition.

Peeler is still working on the baseball field, maintaining the Bermuda grass while the team installs a fence, which should be finished soon.

Shuffler confirmed that the school hopes to have it finished by spring, just in time for baseball season.