Demolition begins on tornado-damaged Wadena school

Demolition began Monday morning on the tornado-damaged Wadena-Deer Creek High School.

A tornado ripped through the town back on June 17, badly damaging the high school and hundreds of other buildings.

School board members, staff and high school students gathered this morning to watch the first walls tumble down.

Joyce Boyne, a Wadena-Deer Creek graduate who worked as an account clerk at the high school for more than 40 years, said community members are glad the building is finally coming down, but she said it was hard to watch.

"It was very emotional," Boyne said. "We all felt it was time for it to come down. We've been waiting for this for five months and have been driving by it every day. So it's a good beginning to our future of our new high school."

Demolition will be completed in about six weeks. Construction on a new high school begins next spring.

Meanwhile, more than 300 high school students are attending classes at the nearby elementary school and state community college.

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