Book drive collects more than 11,000 books for Mulhall elementary

Thursday, December 16th 1999, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- More than 11,300 books have been donated to the Mulhall/Orlando school district for the local elementary school, which was destroyed during the deadly May 3 tornado outbreak.

Crossroads Mall in Oklahoma City, along with Norman elementary schools and MetroTalk radio held the latest book drive for the central Oklahoma district, where about 135 grade-school students are now attending classes in portable buildings on the high school campus.

"We haven't even tried to count the books, but we will deal with it," said Jean Rollow, librarian of Mulhall High School.

The books are now in storage.

Officials hope the new elementary school, which will be built in the same location, will be ready for the start of school next fall.

Until then, an elementary library has been integrated into the secondary library.

An F4 tornado tore through the small Logan County community May 3, destroying many of the community's structures.

Statewide, dozens of tornadoes ripped through central Oklahoma that day, killing 44 people, injuring hundreds and destroying more
than 8,000 homes.