Ozark opens new storm shelter & kitchen at early childhood center

OZARK, Mo. — With severe storms already hitting the Ozarks many times this spring, Ozark residents will now have another storm shelter at their disposal.

On Tuesday, May 21, the Ozark School District hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new storm shelter at Tiger Paw Early Childhood Center.

Located on the south side of the school on Church Street, the shelter will be used for emergency situations and will double as a cafeteria for the children attending Tiger Paw. The storm shelter was funded through a $19 million no-tax-increase bond issue that was passed by Ozark residents in April 2022.

“This new addition does so many things for our building as a whole,” said Tiger Paw principal Dr. Elizabeth Dawson. “It allows our students to have a warm breakfast and lunch, which is something they haven’t had before,” she said. “Also, of course, the safety of everyone here at Tiger Paw. We now have a storm shelter so that in those times of emergency we can easily transition to this space and have it be low stress for students.”

Before the opening of the new kitchen, the gym was used as a cafeteria and faculty had to get meals delivered from East Elementary daily and set up tables twice a day in the gymnasium.

“This is a great opportunity for us to serve kids. We haven’t served kids meals in here with a kitchen since 1994,” said Assistant Superintendent of Operations Dr. Curtis Chesick. “So it’s awesome that we get to do that.”

The Tiger Paw shelter is the second storm shelter to be built in Ozark schools in 2024 thanks to funds provided by the 2022 bond. Ozark Middle School had a new storm shelter open in March, while Ozark High School is expected to open its new storm shelter in June.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR - OzarksFirst.com.