Last week marked the 12th anniversary of the West Fertilizer Plant Explosion. With the exception of a few FB posts, it went largely unnoticed. But not by Matt Howerton of WFAA, as you can see from this piece below. He did an amazing job and it is worth your time.
My wife Sheryl and I lived in West at the time, and as an EMS-certified first responder, I got to the scene early. I was also the field service agent for West ISD and other ISDs for ESC Region 12 and worked with DPS and those superintendents in getting 10 buses to the scene and setting up evacuation sites.
There are many stories to be told, maybe for another time, but it was all summed up by this:
The explosion was on a Wednesday night, and rendered all but one campus unusable, as well as all buses and other district facilities. Yet, over the weekend, residents and students turned a vacant elementary school in a Waco area district into a usable facility and students were back in school by Monday, April 22. It speaks to the resiliency and character that small towns all across Texas possess. Keep up the good work.
Respectfully, Bill.