‘Nothing but resilient’ | Unicoi County elementary students fill middle school, as community adjusts to Hurricane Helene aftermath [Video]

ERWIN, Tenn. — Things are a little crowded at Unicoi County Middle School. Hurricane Helene flooded Temple Hill Elementary School, the smallest in the county. Now, students’ new classrooms are in the wing of a middle school.

Alexa Transki, the elementary school’s principal, said the boiler room was especially damage and was completely flooded — tearing apart the building’s electrical work.

Students were out of school for over three weeks. Now, students, teachers and staff are adjusting to a “new normal” until Temple Hill Elementary School is ready for students to move back in August.

It has about 96 students, Pre-K through the fifth grade.

“We’ve obviously had some really hard challenges, some things that we’ve never encountered or faced before,” Transki said. “But at the same time, people just …