The “Miracle on 37th street” as it was called, was witnessed Feb. 17, with the blessing and grand reopening of the new facility.

Annelise Coello never thought doodling in class would lead to this. Coello, a recent graduate of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Grade School, is the artist behind the images of the four evangelists that grace the front of the new regional Catholic school in Herrin. The school opened last month.

As temperatures plunged to below zero many people were forced to show up at the Catholic relief agencies like Daystar in Cairo, and Catholic Urban Programs and St. Vincent de Paul in East St. Louis. And because of the overwhelming numbers of people seeking help relief agencies, both private and public, were soon tapped out.