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Mintonye Elementary, Closed After November Tornado, To Re-open Wednesday

Mike Loizzo
/
WBAA Radio

Students at one Tippecanoe County school will return to class Wednesday, nearly nine months after a powerful tornado damaged the building.

Mintonye Elementary suffered major damage after winds of up to 165 miles per hour blew through the area on November 18.   Students had to finish out the school year in another building across town.

Tippecanoe School Corporation Spokeswoman Sue Scott says the elementary school has since been reinforced for safety.

"We've made several improvements," Scott says. "Such as the storm weakened the whole north wall of the building. So they added steel beams all along the north wall and you see now they're kind of covered up with the drywall. So that will reinforce and make this whole side of the building mich safer."

The cost to repair the school totaled more than $3 million.

TSC officials have yet to set an opening date for Southwestern Middle School, which was more heavily damaged by the same storm.

The tornado tore the roof off the building and demolished the outside wall of the gymnasium.

Those students will once again occupy a wing of nearby Wea Ridge Middle School until they can return to Southwestern.

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