Almira school burns to the ground

ALMIRA – Last week Tuesday, Oct. 12, the Almira school building that normally housed elementary grades 1 through 5 and ACH Middle School grades 6, 7 and 8 caught fire and burned to the ground in a raging conflagration. The fire burned all through Tuesday night as about 100 firefighters from Almira and its neighboring fire districts battled the blaze and kept it from spreading into residential areas. Fortunately, no one was in the building that Tuesday, as school was canceled due to a power outage caused by an unknown electrical problem.

Word of the disaster spread quickly, and people in Odessa and other communities immediately began planning to help out Almira and its students in any way they could. Odessa FFA advisor and ag teacher HaLee Walter posted a list of supplies that organizations or individuals could donate to the elementary students. Monetary donations are of course also accepted and encouraged.