Eastern KY Schools Desperately Need Books to Replenish Libraries Lost in the Flooding

One wonders just how long it will take for eastern Kentucky to regain its footing after flooding that has devastated the area over the past month.

And that's a far more potent statement than it, at first, appears to be; it has BEEN a month since the rains that led to the majority of the catastrophic flood waters fell on the eastern part of the Commonwealth.

EASTERN KENTUCKY FLOODING BY THE NUMBERS

Multiple records have been shattered.

THE DEVASTATION SEEMS TO KNOW NO BOUNDS

Homes have been destroyed.

And in Letcher County, there are schools that no longer have libraries.

THREE EASTERN KENTUCKY SCHOOLS WITHOUT LIBRARIES

Multiple requests have been posted on social media asking for donations of books to restock libraries in two Letcher County elementary schools and one middle school.

While most Kentucky students are back in school for the 2022-2023 school year, those in Letcher County are still waiting for the green light. The hope is to get the year started sometime in mid-September. If school started now--and I obviously can't--those schools (at LEAST those, that we know of) would have no books in their libraries.

Devastating.

So here's what we can do to help these Letcher County schools. If you would like to send books that would be appropriate for elementary- or middle-school-aged kids, you may send them to:

Board of Education
752 Hazard Rd.
Whitesburg, KY 41858

Letcher County Superintendent Denise Yonts said that 40 of her 500 school employees have lost everything in the flooding.

AN EASTERN KENTUCKY BOOK DRIVE BEGINS

Through all of this, as crews and school employees work to exhaustion trying to get the school year started at a reasonable time, all things considered, we can't help but think of what the students are dealing with as they wonder about what they'll face when they return.

Speaking from a personal standpoint, the libraries in the schools I attended in elementary and middle schools were places I couldn't wait to visit when I was a student.

You simply can't have a school without a library. So let's get busy and help restock these libraries.