Joplin High School

JOPLIN, Mo--- While several months have passed since the deadly tornado hit Joplin, demolition has finally started at the high school. School administrators say it took awhile to get all the paper work done. Friday at noon workers finished removing all the hazardous material from the high school.  Then demolition immediately started. District leaders say they are recycling the metal.  In a few weeks, the high school will be no more. The area will be covered with dirt and used as a floodplain.

JOPLIN - Tuesday marks one year since the deadly EF-5 tornado tore thgouth Joplin...one of the darkest days for many residents. In fact, the tornado hit on the night of Joplin High School's graduation last year. On Monday, the ceremony was highlighted by a commencement address by President Barack Obama.

What started out as a way to lift the spirits of Joplin High School students, displaced by last May's tornado...has now turned into a viral video on youtube: These are Joplin High School's  juniors and seniors....lip sincing to a couple of their favorite tunes as they dance through a shopping mall, part of which was turned into a school building for them this year.  You'll remember the students lost their school to the ef-5 tornado last...

JOPLIN, Mo. -- For Joplin High School seniors, the first day of their senior year didn't feel like they thought it would. "It was basically like my freshman year all over again; I really didn't know where anything was at and it was a littte nerve-racking," sayid senior Raycee Thompson. A classmate, Kellie Stringer, agrees, "I kind of feel like a freshman again, because you have to hold your schedule and you don't know where you're going," she said. "The familiar faces are the same but, walking down the hallways, it's like you're in a movie or something," said senior Nathan Stripling.

JOPLIN, Mo. -- A thief has made off with a utility vehicle donated to the Joplin High School marching band through a tornado relief fund. Police say the 2009 John Deere Gator and the attached trailer were taken Tuesday afternoon.  The band only had the vehicle since Friday.  They bought it with money raised by other local bands.  That check was presented during a marching competition in Webb City last month. A local dealer is offering to lend the band another one.

JOPLIN, Mo. - President Obama will return to Joplin tonight to address the 428 seniors graduating from Joplin High School. The commencement begins the city's remembrance of the deadly tornado. It's a bittersweet night for the seniors. They have the honor of having the president speak at their graduation...at the same time, it's hard for them to forget all they've lost. Among those killed in last year's tornado were seven public school students, including Will Norton -- who had just graduated from high school and was on his way home to a celebration.

Joplin -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency is giving $40-million to the city of Joplin to help rebuild following the May 22 tornado. Half of the money will be used to clean up the wreckage from Joplin High School and cover the National Guard's response costs; the other half of the funds will go to rebuild Saint John's Hospital that was in the path of the EF-5 twister. One-hundred sixty-one people were killed in the disaster.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The city of Joplin will be the real winner in Friday's preseason game between the Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Rams. The Chiefs and Rams will use the annual Governor's Cup game at Arrowhead Stadium to recognize rescue teams and volunteers from the city's tornado recovery.  Nearly 500 victims of the storm and volunteers will attend the game.  Arrowhead Stadium will also play host to the Joplin High School versus Raymore-Peculiar...

JOPLIN, Mo. -- A big construction company is in trouble after allegations that it ripped off workers.  Urban Metropolitan Development of Atlanta, Ga., faces felony charges because it's accused of not paying workers the right amount after the tornado in Joplin last year. Urban Metropolitan was hired to demolish Joplin High School, Old South Middle School and Irving Elementary.  The company got the job done, but investigators say its executives lied to the state and the school district about much it cost to do the work.

SPRINGFIELD, -- Saturday night is prom night for Joplin High School. Karissa Kiblinger was looking forward to the prom with her friends, but it couldn't happen because she's in the hospital. For the nurses at Cox South, that wasn't a problem. They brought the prom to Karissa. The Joplin tornado destroyed her home and then she came down with a rare respiratory infection that put her in Cox South. A wing of the pediatric ward was transformed for the big dance. The nurses donated their time and money to make this happen.

JOPLIN, Mo. -- A big construction company is in trouble after allegations that it ripped off workers.  Urban Metropolitan Development of Atlanta, Ga., faces felony charges because it's accused of not paying workers the right amount after the tornado in Joplin last year. Urban Metropolitan was hired to demolish Joplin High School, Old South Middle School and Irving Elementary.  The company got the job done, but investigators say its executives lied to the state and the school district about much it cost to do the work.

JOPLIN - Tuesday marks one year since the deadly EF-5 tornado tore thgouth Joplin...one of the darkest days for many residents. In fact, the tornado hit on the night of Joplin High School's graduation last year. On Monday, the ceremony was highlighted by a commencement address by President Barack Obama.

JOPLIN, Mo. - President Obama will return to Joplin tonight to address the 428 seniors graduating from Joplin High School. The commencement begins the city's remembrance of the deadly tornado. It's a bittersweet night for the seniors. They have the honor of having the president speak at their graduation...at the same time, it's hard for them to forget all they've lost. Among those killed in last year's tornado were seven public school students, including Will Norton -- who had just graduated from high school and was on his way home to a celebration.

SPRINGFIELD, -- Saturday night is prom night for Joplin High School. Karissa Kiblinger was looking forward to the prom with her friends, but it couldn't happen because she's in the hospital. For the nurses at Cox South, that wasn't a problem. They brought the prom to Karissa. The Joplin tornado destroyed her home and then she came down with a rare respiratory infection that put her in Cox South. A wing of the pediatric ward was transformed for the big dance. The nurses donated their time and money to make this happen.

JOPLIN, Mo--- While several months have passed since the deadly tornado hit Joplin, demolition has finally started at the high school. School administrators say it took awhile to get all the paper work done. Friday at noon workers finished removing all the hazardous material from the high school.  Then demolition immediately started. District leaders say they are recycling the metal.  In a few weeks, the high school will be no more. The area will be covered with dirt and used as a floodplain.

Joplin -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency is giving $40-million to the city of Joplin to help rebuild following the May 22 tornado. Half of the money will be used to clean up the wreckage from Joplin High School and cover the National Guard's response costs; the other half of the funds will go to rebuild Saint John's Hospital that was in the path of the EF-5 twister. One-hundred sixty-one people were killed in the disaster.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- Joplin schools are beginning the demolition process and planning for new schools.   Although they'll have insurance money to rebuild, building schools that will best serve future generations will take a little more.   A unique fundraiser is commemorating the past to raise funds for the future.  Bricks that spent years in the walls of Joplin high school and came crashing down on May 22nd are now part of a fundraiser to help rebuild Joplin schools. "Well, my wife, right after the storm, was volunteering at the school, working through the superintendent's office, and she said almost every day that went by, they got a call from somebody out there wanting a souvenir brick from the high school," says Gary Burton.

What started out as a way to lift the spirits of Joplin High School students, displaced by last May's tornado...has now turned into a viral video on youtube: These are Joplin High School's  juniors and seniors....lip sincing to a couple of their favorite tunes as they dance through a shopping mall, part of which was turned into a school building for them this year.  You'll remember the students lost their school to the ef-5 tornado last...

JOPLIN, Mo. -- A music legend is helping make sure Joplin students have plenty of musical opportunities, even after the tornado on May 22 that destroyed $3.7 million worth of music program supplies.  The Manilow Music Project , and singer Barry Manilow himself, made a stop in Joplin on Thursday morning. It's been five months since the tornado, and the old Joplin High School still sits tattered and torn.  All the suppplies for the music program were destroyed when the tornado hit, but students and staff are doing their best to move on.  The visit from Manilow and the donation of $300,000 worth of musical instruments are a high note for the students of Joplin.

JOPLIN, Mo. -- A thief has made off with a utility vehicle donated to the Joplin High School marching band through a tornado relief fund. Police say the 2009 John Deere Gator and the attached trailer were taken Tuesday afternoon.  The band only had the vehicle since Friday.  They bought it with money raised by other local bands.  That check was presented during a marching competition in Webb City last month. A local dealer is offering to lend the band another one.