Milltown students' book bags packed by goodwill in Grand Falls-Windsor

As fast as flames destroyed the school in Milltown,the good will of residents in Grand Falls-Windsor has re-packed students' book bags with supplies lost in the fire.

The town organized a school supply drive to offer help to a community that "experienced the unimaginable," according to a post on the the Town of Grand Falls-Windsor Facebook page.

Two donation times were scheduled to gather supplies for the 250 displaced students.

The communityneeded only one.

"We got pretty much everything covered on the list in the first day," said Mayor Barry Manuel, standing beside a stack of boxes filled with pencils, notebooks, glue sticks and more.

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"It's always great to see when someoneexperiences this kind of tragedy and the community rallies around them," said Manuel.

"As Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, that's what we do, right? It's communities helping communites."

Tragic event triumphed by support

The community of Mlltown-Head of Bay d'Espoirwas hit by a string of fires that destroyed the town hall, RCMP detachment and school last Wednesday.

The RCMP hascharged 48-year-old Donald Craig MacHaight of Morrisville with arson. MacHaight told a provincial court judge days after the fires that he did not want to leave jail.

MacHaightappearedbefore a judge in Grand Falls-Windsor Friday, and was thensent to the Waterford Hospital in St. John's for a psychiatric assessment

Meanwhile the students of Bay d'EspoirAcademy are preparing to finish the school year at a temporary school in St. Alban's.

Manuel saidthe supplies will be shipped to the school Friday, in time for the first students to unpack on Monday morning.

"I'm sure that will be a nice scene, to see these kids accepting all these donations," Manuel told CBC News.

Paying it Forward

Even thoughthe second donation drop off was cancelled,people still showed up with more supplies. Manuelsaid it shows the community'sdesire to help a nearby town get through a tough time.

"When something so tragic happens and I'm sure as young kids it's difficult for them really to grasp what went on in Milltown but when someone is doing a good deed for them like this, I hope it really sends a strong message to them as something tohold on to for the rest of their life," said Manuel.

"This is the way we react when those moments take place."

Another donation drive in Grand Falls-Windsor this summer raised money for people affectedby the Fort McMurraywildfire.

"It's funny. There were people from Alberta this time who saw this post and because the support was thrown their way at the time they decided they were going to do a collection in Alberta and send the school supplies down," said Manuel.