Gift of a new roof

SUSSEX BOROUGH — Santa won’t need to look around for a suitable landing spot at one fortunate Sussex County resident’s home any more, thanks to Jeff Jacobus and his crew.

Jacobus, head of grounds at High Point Regional High School, heard from a fellow school district employee that a retired former custodian at the school was battling cancer and was unable to repair his rotting roof.

“I jumped in my truck with another guy, and we went to take a look at it,” he said.

A quick look confirmed the need for a roof replacement, and Jacobus, who has a full background in construction, and his friend went straight to the school principal to look for assistance.

“The school administration was very supportive,” Jacobus said. “Luckily, we didn’t have to raise that much money, because we found out that the shingles had already been purchased.”

Jacobus did not know the beneficiary personally. The retiree had worked as custodian at the High Point High School for 30 years and had returned to substitute when needed for a number of years after that. His wife also worked in the cafeteria. However Jacobus has only worked at the school for a few years and did not overlap with him.

Even with Jacobus’s construction experience, it was still quite a challenge to get the roof repaired.

“There were seven sheets of rotten plywood,” he said. “We had to tear it down to the rafters.”

Fortunately, Jacobus had a ready and willing crew of volunteers with him.

“It was a group effort,” he said. “My department, the Custodial Department and a teacher did the roof. But the group effort included administration, the superintendent, principal, teachers and secretaries who coordinated everything.”

Once the hammers, nails and ladders were up, it took two full days to get the work done.

The efforts were well appreciated. The finished roof was called “the best Christmas present ever” by the recipient, who declined to be identified.

Jacobus and the other volunteers remain ready and willing to assist again, should the need arise.

“Although hopefully nobody will be in a situation like that again, I would do it again in a heartbeat," Jacobus said.