By Jon Chown
I haven’t sent a letter-to-the-editor since the Vietnam War. That tells you a bit about me. My concern today is much more local. I live on Bean Creek Road and almost daily I stop at the traffic light by [Scotts Valley] Middle School.
I always look at what the tornado wrought. My friends see it too, and have asked, “Hey, you worked in the construction world. What’s going on with the repairs to the school roof?”
I would reply that, undoubtedly, they will wait until summer vacation, meanwhile ordering and gathering the rather specialized beams and metal roofing they need.
Yesterday, a friend, having heard my previous explanation, asked, “OK, Mr, Know-it-All. Now what’s the problem?” I could only shrug. Not even a temporary construction fence yet!
I hope you can put on your investigative journalist hat and get to the bottom of this. Maybe the materials are still not ready. Maybe the insurance policy wasn’t renewed.
I understand you must be kind of a rah-rah rag for the city (I never read an unkind word and that’s refreshing these days). But will you find and publish the answers? And if there’s dirt, dig it!
— Eric Timm, Scotts Valley
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It’s been more than six months since a tornado’s destructive path left Scotts Valley Middle School with nearly $1 million in damage, but repairs are finally underway and expected to be completed by the end of August.
Repairs are underway at Scotts Valley Middle School on Wednesday, July 23.
A rare EF-1 tornado struck Scotts Valley on Dec. 14, 2024, at approximately 1:39 p.m., remaining on the ground for about five minutes. The twister carved a roughly 0.3-mile path nearly 30 yards wide along Mount Hermon Road, unleashing up to 90 mph gusts. It overturned at least six vehicles, including a Cal Fire pickup and a commuter van, snapped power poles, 15 traffic signals were knocked out and many businesses suffered damage.
At Scotts Valley Middle School, a massive fir tree, about 7 feet in diameter, was uprooted by the tornado and crashed onto the roof of the science building. No students or staff were injured, but besides the damage to the roof, the impact also affected some vents, A/C equipment and the library.
Mike Smith, director of facilities and maintenance for the Scotts Valley Unified School District, said the repairs cost about $750,000. Three roof beams, along with posts that support them, were being replaced. A large portion of the roof was also being replaced. The reason for the delay is that the construction plans had to be submitted to the Division of the State Architect, which is responsible to make sure schools are constructed safely. Classes begin the first week of August.
“All of the heavy work will be done prior to students being on campus,” Smith said.