The Midwest had a ‘shaky’ start to its Friday morning, March 13, when winds reaching up to 70 mph blew across the region. DGN was affected as the fieldhouse suffered damage to its roof, putting a temporary hold on all uses of the gym, and revoking its use as a practice and class atmosphere. 

“Maintenance and I went up onto the roof Friday morning when someone said they saw metal waving from the roof,” supervisor of building and grounds maintenance Michelle Cannan said. “Some flashing came separated from the roof, air got under there and separated the roof membrane from the insulation.”

Flashing is a critical component of roof installation as it prevents leaks and structural damage. Strong winds lifted this sheet from its fixed place, and conditions became dangerous both inside the fieldhouse and outside the school. 

“We closed the whole area outside for a couple hours and called a roofing company which came right away,” Canaan said. “We signed an order for them to do emergency work. They put 10,000 pounds of paver bricks on top to hold it down.”

With the advice of the roofing company’s safety expert, who deemed entering the fieldhouse to be unsafe, DGN entered an “adjust and adapt” mode to work with this mishap. 

“I was walking out second period…and two maintenance guys were walking in the main street entrance with caution tape wrapped around their bodies and they were stumbling over because it was so windy,” head girls track & field coach Matthew Maletich said. “They came in saying ‘It’s not good out there, the roof is coming off the field house.’”

The day of the damage, a home meet for the girl’s track & field team was scheduled to take place in the fieldhouse. Due to the damage being above the fieldhouse ceiling, the meet was cancelled.

“We were holding out hope until we knew something for sure. Then we finally found out around 2:30 and we had to scramble to tell the other coaches,” Maletich said.

Baseball, softball, boys and girls track & field, volleyball, girls soccer, girls lacrosse, and badminton all rely on the field house in some capacity during the spring. Teams have kept the fieldhouse busy until 9:30 p.m.

“Making sure our teams have adequate space to run meaningful practices is always our main consideration,” athletic director David Rose said. “The main obstacle has been getting teams access to spaces so they can still practice.”

To ensure this, teams will practice in the morning or come back to DGN in the evening. Also, local schools such as Herrick Middle School and DGS have offered their facilities, when available, for DGN teams to practice in. 

“Spring is always a challenging time due to weather, but taking away the fieldhouse makes it more challenging,” Rose said. “Thankfully, the coaches and athletes have taken it all in stride and made the best out of their practice times and spaces.”

Sports aren’t alone when it comes to adjusting to keep routines as much as possible. PE classes in the field house have been relocated to different areas around the building.

“We always have classes scheduled in the fieldhouse,” PE department chair Courtney White said. “It’s our biggest space, so we can get up to two classes in there. Now that it’s shut down, I’ve had to move eight classes.”

With multiple PE courses in each class period, many are found needing to share one space with another class. The current procedures for adjusting PE class locations is similar to a protocol known as “rain stations,” which are used when classes planned outside have to find a spot indoors when it rains. 

“So far, moving classes has been okay,” White said. “More classes are in the multi-purpose room. We can have three classes in the underground track, which can get a little crazy, and classes up in the Purple Gym balcony, which is a little tight.”

The timeline of how long it will take to repair the roof is currently undetermined. The first step is determining whether it’s more cost-worthy to repair only the damaged section, or replace the entire roof.

“We’re waiting for those numbers so we can formulate a plan, give the board our recommendation, and hopefully get emergency funds to make the repairs as soon as possible,” Canaan said. “We’ll wait for the board to make a decision and hopefully get something resolved before the end of the school year.”