Muskogee's Bacone College Left With Debris, Mold After Pounding Storm

Clean-up efforts are underway in Muskogee after storms earlier this month ripped part of the roof off a Bacone College building.  Part of the roof at the Bacone College dorm is now on the ground.

Vice President of Bacone College Leroy Thompson is calling it a "crisis."

"There's a lot to be done," he stated.  

The goal is to get all of this debris cleaned up by the end of the week, but one of the first concerns is removing mold inside. 

The college said the entire dorm building is unusable after strong winds ripped part of the roof off a couple weeks ago. About 50 students living there during the summer left before the storm and had to find new housing. Now crews are  removing mold throughout the building.

Bacone College said it's dealing with more than a half million worth of damage - and still cleaning up after a storm last December left 8 inches of water inside the chapel. 

"Before we could get that damage cleaned up, here we are hit with another major disaster by Mother Nature," said Thompson. 

7/14/2016 Related Story: Strong Winds Knock Over Semis On Tulsa, Muskogee Area Highways

School starts August 24th, but Thompson says things will be ready.

"It has to be," Thompson said. "Because we have some 600 students who need to occupy rooms on this campus the latter part of August." 

About a third of those students are athletes who need to be on campus even earlier.

"We have our men and women's soccer teams, our volleyball team, and then our football team, which is over 100 guys alone, all reporting August the 10th," Athletic Director Alan Foster explained.

Foster says there's a plan in place for where they'll live.

"It may involve putting some kids in a room, then by the 20th putting them in another room." Said Foster. 

But despite the work ahead, Thompson is confident. He's sure it's going to get done.

The college estimates repairs will cost more than a half a million dollars.

Thompson says even after help from insurance, the school is still coming up short by about $150,000. The college is asking for donations to help pay for the clean up.

If you can help go to "Restore Bacone."