From the Spanthers after Hurricane Katrina that combined the Salmen High School Spartans with the Northshore High School Panthers, to a new $49,590,000 building, Salmen rose from the floodwaters of Lake Pontchartrain and the Gulf of Mexico to become better, stronger, and a bridge for the community.

The ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday was not as much a look back at the Salmen High School before Katrina as a look forward into the future of the parish and the Slidell community five years after the storm flooded south Slidell and the eastern side of the parish.

Recounting efforts to rebuild the school, Sen. Mary Landrieu said, “Our delegation worked hard to get this job done, and it was a big job...This weeks is about looking forward and a smarter, better, wiser FEMA and using common sense.”

Former Salmen High School Principal Byron Williams, St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis, Salmen High School Principal Terri Wortmann, U. S. Sen. Mary Landrieu and St. Tammany Parish School Superintendent Trey Folse join in singing the Salmen high School alma mater at the ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday. More photos from the event are on page 1B. (Staff Photo by Debbie Glover)

Landrieu said that at the time, she thought the design was extraordinary; however, federal officials said it couldn’t be done because it was three feet too high. “We needed to do things right, build for parking underneath the building. We decided to do things as smart as we can and we pushed together,” said Landrieu.

“I said, don’t give up, don’t give in, we are going to do this,” said Landrieu. “The result was more green space, more parking, a beautiful campus and the best technology...Children are our heart and 100 percent of our future. We felt our first dollars and efforts should go to them.”

St. Tammany President Kevin Davis, a 1973 alumnus of Salmen High School, said it took him six years to finish Salmen.

“At the time, it had grades seven, eight and nine. As it dropped a grade, it added a grade, so I was here six years,” Davis said with a smile. “This school has graduated artists, scholars, and yes, even politicians... We knew after Katrina that if there were no schools, who would come back? It was an enormous effort and through platooning and neighboring schools like Northshore (High School), everyone in the community partnered together to rebuild the community. We can’t thank you enough. Teachers mold us throughout our lives and the teachers keep encouraging us to continue.”

Principal Terri Wortmann said that many people can remember vividly where they were during life-changing moments, like the Challenger disaster or when Kennedy was shot. The weekend of Katrina, five years ago, Salmen had just lost their jamboree game to Slidell High, “our cross-town rival.”

Wortmann said everyone’s thoughts were on the upcoming football season. Then later that night, warnings of Hurricane Katrina approaching were everywhere.

“Still, we thought it was just another hurricane,” Wortmann said.

Then evacuation.

Upon hearing of the flooding in south Slidell, she heard from then-principal Byron Williams that Salmen High was gone.

“My first thought were of my students. Where were they? Were they OK? Will I ever see them again?” she said.

“The Oct. 3 school opening as Spanthers was wonderful,” she said. “We needed the reality of seeing one another again, of being home again. When these walls that stand around us today began to take shape, we all breathed a collective sigh of relief. Finally, we had faith that our family would be whole once more. We believed that our school would be rebuilt so that future generations could share in the Salmen tradition. As we witnessed first hand, the rebuilding of our school, we faced each day with a sense of hope, and the promise that we would be whole once more. So I stand before you today, with an excitement and anticipation, not just for the Salmen of today, but for the Salmen that many have known and that many will know one day.”

Wortmann said the first day of school this year was “magical. There was a feeling of promise all around me.”

A retrospective presentation by Channel 13 ended the ceremony before the ribbon cutting, with one of the school’s best-known alumni, Chris Duhon, saying, “I am Salmen and Salmen is me.”

The new school, open since the beginning of the school year, contains six classroom wings, a library building, an administration wing, a cafeteria and a gymnasium. Classroom facilities include a broadcast room; a ProStart kitchen; art, band and chorus classrooms; two auto tech shop classrooms; and 40 general classrooms. There are also five computer labs in classroom wings. The library includes stacks, a computer lab, a research room, a work room and a conference room.

Parking with 230 spaces is available with 106 under the buildings and 124 near the buildings.

An additional 225 spaces for student parking is also included.

The demolition of the temporary campus will take place this fall and the replacement of the baseball field is anticipated for the spring.