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"Jefferson!"
The kids at Jefferson Elementary school in Calexico are back in school and they have
been since May of last year. But they're still going to class in makeshift buildings on the
edge of the school campus.
That's because the school's classrooms looks like this, and they have since Easter of last
year.
"I couldn't believe it! I couldn't believe the damage that had been done. I started making
phone calls to notify people to shut off the water. And I definitely knew there would be
some attention that would be needed at Jefferson."
Principal Padilla says he expects they won't be back in the school building until December.
Ceilings, soffits and water pipes weren't the only things that took a hit from the earthquake.
The Calexico school superintendent says the quake forced them to cancel many days of classes
throughout the district.
"The high school was out for 20 days and Jefferson students were out for 23 days. All the rest
of the students were back in last at the end of 17 days. That's a major hit, cost-wise."
That's because school districts are reimbursed by the state per student, per day. Lost days
means lost revenue. About 11 million dollars in the case of Calexico Unified.
The city of Calexico saw a lot of damage to its infrastructure. Mayor John Moreno says
the city's water treatment plant, alone, suffered 28 million dollars in damage.
"Now we're waiting for the money that was pushed by Senator Barbara Boxer from the U.S.
Congress. And now it's in Sacramento and the state. And we're just waiting for it to funnel
to the city of Calexico."
The good news, in Moreno's view, is that Calexico is almost back to normal.
"Our city right now is 95 percent. Our downtown is 95 percent. There are some houses that
need to be rehabbed. There are some fences and stuff that still need to be fixed."
Anderson Apartments was one of the residential buildings that was structurally damaged and
condemned. Sixteen units were lost. About 45 people were displaced. One hundred and
seventeen people were temporarily displaced from the De Anza Hotel, an old folks home
about three blocks away from here.
"They were taken to other places in the community. Hotels and motels that were available to them."
Another Calexico group that has taken a while to bounce back is the downtown business community.
Some buildings were deemed unsafe and demolished. This building may ultimately lose its characteristic
arches.
Downtown grocery store owner Eduardo Lopez found his store in shambles after the earthquake.
"We were kind of shocked at the amount of damage as far as all the merchandize being
on the ground. And because of broken items they contaminate other items so we did have
to throw away quite a bit of merchandise."
Like most businesspeople Lopez needed to close his store while inspectors made sure buildings
were stable. Though business has mostly returned to normal, Lopez estimates the Easter earthquake
cost him 70 thousand dollars.
"I was not covered for earthquake and so basically the store and ourselves had to absorb the
loss of revenue to the store in addition to all the damage done to the store."
Earthquakes are common in Calexico. But the locals are hoping they stay small at least
until everything gets fixed.