Henryville help

Since tornadoes ripped through Clark County on March 2, there has been an outpouring of support to the southern-Indiana community. A group of Jay County High School students is part of the effort.
Five students from Matt Slavik’s earth science class are spearheading a fundraiser this week to help their counterparts in Henryville.
“How a community works is you help your neighbors,” said Jacob Harter, who is organizing the effort along with classmates Dustin Guffey, Dayne Byrge, Megan Stocker and William O’Hern. “That’s what you’re supposed to do. The state of Indiana is a big community, and one of our (neighbors) is in trouble, so we have to go out there and help them.”
The group has set up 10 plastic containers in the JCHS office with a different teacher’s name on each one. The teacher with the most money in his or her jar on Friday will take a pie to the face on Jay Today, the school’s televised announcements.
Members of the public can also donate by visiting the JCHS office this week between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.
All of the money collected will be sent by way of a school-to-school donation to Henryville High School, which was destroyed in the storm. The group also has hopes of partnering with students from the building trades classes at JCHS to make a trip to southern Indiana this summer to help the community rebuild.
“If something bad like that happened to us, we would want someone there to help us out,” said Harter. “People lost loved ones in the tornadoes. I know everyone feels … empathy for them, because everyone has lost a loved one in their lives.
“We all are putting 100 percent of our heart into this.”
Thirteen people were killed in Indiana during the March 2 storms, with two tornadoes hitting Henryville in northern Clark County, about 20 miles north of Louisville, Ky. More than 75 people were injured.
About 1,200 students in the school district have been out of class since then as Henryville Junior/Senior High School and an adjacent middle school were destroyed.
Guffey said a hardship in his own life helped spark his desire to get involved.
“To an extent I know what it’s like to lose your home,” he said. “I had a house fire last year and was out of my house for six months. People were very supportive … and I’d like to help other people.”
Slavik said he had planned a chapter about weather for the spring, but moved it up in his schedule when he saw what was being forecast for early March. After the tornadoes hit southern Indiana, he asked his students if any of them had every thought about doing something to help.
From there, the students took the initiative.
“I think one of the best things we can do with kinds is give them that sense of ‘paying it forward’ and to try to do what’s right,” said Slavik. “We’re fortunate here in Jay County to have an extremely giving community …
“I’m glad to see these kids react and take up the challenge to give back.
“The cool thing about it is … they took the ball and ran with it. … I’m proud of them.”[[In-content Ad]]