The Polk School District has decided to close schools on Friday following the afternoon storms moving through the area today, which left some of Cedartown High School damaged due to high winds and heavy rain.
In a statement sent this afternoon around 4:40 p.m., Atkins posted the following information:
“Polk County has been hit hard this afternoon by the severe thunderstorms and tornadoes that have passed through our area. We have lots of families with house damage and power outages. In addition, many roads are blocked with fallen trees, and several schools are now without power. All schools will be closed tomorrow in order to address the water and wind damage at schools, allow for families to take care of damages at their homes, and for roadways to be cleared.”
So far, Atkins reported that Cedartown High School’s damage included the loss of exhaust fans in the kitchen because of this afternoon’s storm, plus two large air conditioning units were “moved causing water to come in” from the roof at the high school.
Additional damage included the Bulldogs baseball team’s backstop. The storm bent poles that were holding netting up to protect fans from errant balls.
Polk County remains under a Tornado Warning through 5:15 p.m., but it appears the worst of the storm went northward toward Cave Spring and Rome.
Georgia Northwestern also announced around 2:40 p.m. that classes and activities on all campuses were canceled for the evening. An event planned for law enforcement by Second Baptist Church of Cedartown as part of a new Celebrate Recovery program was also postponed until next Thursday, April 1.
Check back for more updates as they become available.
