by Phoenix Rivera

Early on the morning of August 31, around 5:40 A.M. EST, a tree fell, due occurrences of heavy winds and flooding resulting from the storm caused by Hurricane Idaia in South Georgia. The tree blocked Roswell Road in front of the school; Roswell Road and the turning lane into the school were entirely shut down, with police directing traffic back toward Dalrymple Drive. Dalrymple was the only way to get directly to the building.

Many cars acted irrationally and swerved through the converging lanes, irritating other drivers and bus drivers alike, due the already apparent inconvenience. Many Spartans had to be redirected, ultimately making students and staff late for school. For those in buses, many of them had to take back routes and longer routes to school, making them late as well. With construction on nearby Pitts Road, which is often used as a shortcut to avoid traffic around Woodlawn Elementary on Spalding before it becomes Dalrymple Drive.

Felipe Camargo Echeverria, a Sophomore, talked about his own experience of getting to school, “On my way to school at 7:20 a.m. I encountered several police officers and signs indicating that a tree had fallen in front of NSHS. My father and I decided to detour to an alternative road located near the accident site. The alternative path was followed by a long line of traffic, which luckily, we were able to get through in less than ten minutes. However, it was clear that traffic would get progressively worse minute by minute. At the end, the road led to the bus entrance of the school, which we were able to enter through before buses began arriving.”

Although the many late students arriving were excused, it was all in all, one heck of a way to start the morning.