'You can become somebody's hero'

Several Plainfield High School teachers, staff members and students became heroes on the afternoon of Aug. 28, 1990.

Some student athletes carried teammates out of harm's way as harrowing twisters approached. Teachers led students to safe hallways as the bricks popped around them "like a popcorn machine."

But as members of the school community mark the 20th anniversary of the devastating tornadoes, a former counselor and football coach came back Friday to remind students they don't need to face a disaster to be a hero.

"You can become somebody's hero today, tomorrow, next month, next year. It doesn't take much when you think about what happens in school on a normal day," Ken Decker told a packed football stadium during the first assembly of the year. "Maybe you have a classmate struggling academically and you can become that person's hero by helping them study."

Decker came to the district in 1990 as a counselor and football coach at Plainfield High School. He had just moved into a new house in early August and his wife was eight months pregnant.

When the tornado hit, he ended up being the spokesman for the school "by accident" after only 10 days on the job.

But that role changed his life for the better and became the defining moment of his career and life.

"You become more appreciative of the things around you and 20 years later I don't take that for granted. My neighbors are out watching the clouds come in and I'm yelling at them to get (into the basement)," Decker said after the assembly. "It's just like everything else. You go through a metamorphosis or a wake-up call and you say to yourself 'I'm going to be a good person. I'm going to do something good. I'm going to make a difference today.' I wasn't that kind of a person (before the tornado) so I think it's a little bit of an epiphany but obviously you have to think about the people who gave the ultimate sacrifice."

As for the school, now known as the Central Campus, Principal Robert Smith has asked the community and students to donate items to a time capsule to be opened on Aug. 28, 2030. This year the school also will honor students for unselfish acts with the super hero of the month award.

"We're all going to be heroes to someone this year," Smith said. "And it's going to feel incredible."