With schools still closed, NC fifth grader’s spirits lifted by teacher’s special call

An eager fifth-grader, Molly Bloemendaal had already missed two weeks of school, huddling in her Banner Elk house without power, water or a good-work sticker.

From her front porch, she could see where the Elk River roared through town at 10 times its height, carrying off the town’s water and sewer lines, ripping out bridges and roads.

School seemed out for good.

Then on Monday, Molly’s mom handed her a cell phone, where her teacher Libby Gragg smiled from the screen.

“I miss you so much,” she said.

Molly’s face lit up inside her pink hoodie.

“Is your house OK?” she asked.

The wreckage from Hurricane Helene has canceled class across western North Carolina as the schools themselves were heavily damaged by rising water and sliding debris, and many of the remote mountain towns are still enduring power and water supply outages that could take months to repair — at least.

In Banner Elk, high above Boone in Avery County, the elementary school escaped heavy damage, but the town’s 1,000 residents are surviving on bottled water, portable showers and toilets flushed with buckets carried from the Elk River.

At Banner Elk Presbyterian Preschool, a wall of water pushed through the walls and flooded the building. A Noah’s Ark carpet hung ironically to dry over a ruined table.

“All my cubbies are gone,” said teacher Jarrett Koski, better known as Mr. K. “One of my parents called and said, “Can you FaceTime with him, so he doesn’t think Jesus came and got you?’ “

‘I love you. You take care.’

Molly’s mother Nola Bloemendaal spends her day ferrying supplies around town, and when she stopped at the Best Western, a hub for meals and showers, one Avery County child told her, “I’m afraid all my friends are dead.”

At Banner Elk Elementary, Gragg checked on every fifth-grader — talking to dozens like Molly.

“We have power but no water,” the 10-year-old said.

“OK,” Gragg said, “well, you tell your mom to get you over to our house.”

At this point, Molly’s mother jumped on the call to say her daughter was still wearing the crescent moon necklace the principal gave her before the storm.

“The electricity turned out for a second and then I could see it glowed in the dark,” she told her teacher.

“How neat!” Gragg raved. “Well, I hear you are just making us all so proud. You’ve got that river spirit. The dreamer. Way to go, girl.”

“Where are you?”

“I am actually at Banner Elk Elementary. I was just checking in to see how you were because I miss you and love you and I want to see you soon.”

“OK.”

“OK, girlfriend. I love you. You take care.”

“OK.”

“Bye, Molly.”

“Bye.”

She clicked off the phone, revived for the moment by a 2-minute outreach.