Nurses from as far away as Texas, a round-the-clock principal, pets and law enforcement have transformed The Villages Elementary of Lady Lake into a hurricane shelter.
Students were dismissed early on Tuesday, but the transformation at the school began at 6 a.m. that day.
Principal Gregg Dudley met with animal control, the county health department, Lake County Fire Rescue and the the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Those agencies examined the school for suitability and safety.
The school, which has 750 students, can house up to 400 people for the next few days during the duration of Hurricane Ian. The shelter is also pet-friendly. Pets will be housed in their crates in a classroom.
The shelter will be staffed by school personnel, including custodial staff and food service personnel.
Nurses set up a medical center in the school’s library. They are volunteer nurses, and at least one of them came all the way from San Antonio, Texas.
Both Dudley and his assistant principal will be staffing the school 24 hours per day for the next few days.
- Shelters which opened Tuesday
- Villages Elementary – 695 Rolling Acres Rd, Lady Lake (special needs) *
- Leesburg Elementary – 2229 South St, Leesburg (special needs) *
- Umatilla Elementary – 401 Lake St, Umatilla (special needs) *
- Lost Lake Elementary – 1901 Johns Lake Rd, Clermont (special needs) *
- Astatula Elementary – 13925 Florida Ave, Astatula (special needs) *
- Treadway Elementary — 10619 Treadway School Rd, Leesburg *
- Spring Creek Charter — 44440 Spring Creek Rd, Paisley *
- Mascotte Charter — 460 Midway Ave, Mascotte *
- Round Lake Charter – 31333 Round Lake Rd, Mount Dora *
- Mount Dora High School – 700 N. Highland St, Mount Dora
- Leesburg High School – 1401 Yellow Jacket Way, Leesburg
- Shelters opening at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Sep. 28
- East Ridge High School – 13322 Excalibur Rd, Clermont
- East Ridge Middle School – 13201 Excalibur Rd, Clermont
- Lost Lake Elementary School – 1901 Johns Lake Rd, Clermont
- Tavares High School – 603 N. New Hampshire Ave, Tavares
