BY PHILLIP PINA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A group of Moeller High School students were chased from their volunteer mission in West Virginia this week by flood waters.
According to the American Red Cross, the group of students and an adult leader, were in Salem, W.Va., to help the elderly with home repairs. But the devasting floods in the region damaged the farm where they were staying.
Powerful storms and floods have left at least 25 people dead or missing in the East and Midwest over the past several days.
Many phone lines and other means of communication throughout the flooded Salem area are inoperable, said Barbara Giles, Red Cross spokeswoman for the Cincinnati area. Her agency helped locate the students and get word back to families that they were safe.
After hearing about the floods, Sandy Gapinski of West Chester felt an uneasiness come over her. Her 17-year-old son Andy had joined six other Moeller students on the volunteer trip on Sunday.
After reading reports on the floods, she tried to reach him, then the volunteer group, the farm where he was staying, or anybody who could tell her Andy was OK.
"It was horrible not knowing if he was safe," Mrs. Gapinski said.
Then on Wednesday, she called the Red Cross, which found the group and told Mrs. Gapinski her son was OK and staying at a shelter. She still had not talked to him by Wednesday night, but just knowing he's safe was relief enough, Mrs. Gapinski said.
The group is expected to return to Cincinnati this weekend.
