-Information courtesy Dr. Stan Winborne, Public Information Officer, Granville County Public Schools
Forecasts for Hurricane Florence continue to show a significant threat to our area in the coming days. After consultation with Emergency Management officials, we have decided to cancel school for all students and staff for Thursday, September 13 and Friday, September 14. Also, all after-school activities and athletics have been canceled for Wednesday, September 12. Our after-school programs will close at 5 p.m.
We realize that the timing and track of the storm may change, but we are making this decision with an abundance of caution, and to allow our families and employees adequate time to prepare for what may come with the storm.
Please know that Granville County Emergency Management has designated Northern Granville Middle School as an official public shelter. They recommend that this shelter ONLY be used as a last resort.
Granville County Emergency Management staff encourage anyone who feels unsafe to stay in their own residence to seek shelter with friends and family FIRST. If available, and individuals can afford it, they also recommend seeking shelter at a hotel or similar accommodation rather than staying at the public shelter. Due to the magnitude of the storm’s predicted impacts on our state, there are extremely limited resources to support a public shelter and, at best, they can only guarantee a solid roof overhead.
If you have no other alternative but to come to the public shelter, Emergency Management staff recommend that you bring sleeping bags, pillows, clothing, personal medical needs/medications, personal hygiene items, special dietary items, and other personal comfort items for each member of your family that may come to the shelter. Again, they highly recommend sheltering in place, at your own home if you feel it is substantial enough; however, before coming to a public shelter, they encourage you to seek shelter with friends and/or family or, if affordable, in a hotel.
Finally, if you experience power outages, please contact your electric company provider. Please only call 911 in the case of a true emergency.
We will send any future updates on our school calendar as needed. Thank you all and we hope you will stay safe in the coming days.