Little Axe School Year Canceled Due to Tornado Damage

By Colleen Chen, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Senior class of Little Axe High is being forced to break tradition this year.

"Graduation has always been held on our football field. The tornado took that away. A lot of our students are very disappointed," said Little Axe High School Principal Steven Edwards.

The football field is far from the only thing taken out by one of this week's tornadoes. The superintendent's office was also blown away.

Little Axe Tornado

Little Axe superintendent Barry Damrill said there was no way the district could finish the school year because of the damage and blocked off roads in the area.

"Although the state board of education still has to vote, Sandy Garrett called and told me not to worry," Damrill said.

Graduation will be held at St. Gregory's gym in Shawnee on Tuesday, May 18th at 8 p.m.

Students said they are disappointed that the location has to be changed.

"I've lived here all my life and I've never seen anything like this. We've always said it's always missed us. It's always going to miss us. We're not going to get hit and my senior year, what happens? You get hit," said student Ryan Kuenzli.

Graduation on the football field was to be extra special for Kuenzli who bounced back from being a dropout to becoming this year's senior class president.

"I wanted it bad. My brother graduated in 2004. It's a tradition. It's a pretty big deal seeing where I came from, that I didn't think I was ever going to graduate," Kuenzli said.

A volunteer community cleanup is scheduled for Saturday, May 22. Volunteers are asked to meet in the Little Axe Elementary parking lot at 10 a.m.