Tornado Anniversary 20150429

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The destruction-dealing funnel cloud, seen here from Barnes Crossing Road and Highway 45, cut through Tupelo from the southwest and headed out of the city and into southern Itawamba County.

One year ago, nature’s fury brought us together

By Chris Kieffer | Daily Journal

Inside

Most Tupelo area residents were not caught by complete surprise on Monday, April 28, 2014.

Conversations during the preceding days centered upon the imposing weather system churning toward the Magnolia State and the potential it held to create chaos.

That morning, the warm, still air was heavy and ominous. By mid-morning came the announcement that Lee County and Tupelo schools would close between 12:20 and 12:50 p.m., joining others across the region in dismissing students in advance of the threatening weather.

As the day’s hours ticked by, nervous residents hoped any possible funnel cloud would stay far away from the All-America City and the surrounding area.

It didn’t. ➤ ➤ ➤ P. 6

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Stories from the storm A supplement to the Daily Journal | Tuesday, April 28, 2015 | Section C

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April 28, 2014: Down, not out

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A 31-mile path of destruction in 38 minutes

BY CHRIS KIEFFER DAILY JOURNAL

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A Tupelo police officer fights high wind and rains as he jumps over power lines on North Gloster Street just minutes after the tornado ripped through the city. does in the Carolinas and severe weather into the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes area. In Louisville, a separate twister left 10 people dead, while Mississippi reported a total of 22 tornadoes on the day.

As the funnel cloud left Lee County, its loud growl soon was replaced by the voices of neighbors calling out to check on each other. Rain fell intermittently, emergency personnel began searching and securing damaged areas, and the smells of snapped trees, damp insulation

Emergency personnel walk through debris on Green Street immediately after the storm passed through.

and broken gas lines hung in the air.

The storm displaced residents for days, weeks or months. Houses were destroyed, beloved businesses were gone and previously shady streets became unrecognizable without long-standing tree canopies. From Tupelo’s Bristow Acres and Joyner neighborhoods through the Centerville, Ratliff and Ozark communities in Itawamba County, neighborhoods were forever changed. The path traveled through Rogers ➤

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THE APRIL 2014

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etween 2:42 and 3:20 p.m. an EF3 tornado whipped through the clouds and tore a 31-mile path through Tupelo, Lee County and southern Itawamba County. With winds up to 150 miles an hour, the funnel flung trees, ripped roofs and damaged or destroyed more than 300 homes and businesses.

“I just kept hoping and praying it just wasn’t that bad, widespread,” Tupelo Mayor Jason Shelton said.

“I quickly realized it was that bad and even worse.”

Pontotoc resident Candace Blansett, 39, was killed when her car was swept off Palmetto Road.

She was the region’s lone fatality, although Tupelo lost a native son hours later when 21-year-old University of Alabama swimmer John Servati was killed in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Servati died saving his girlfriend after flooding rain from the storm system caused a retaining wall to collapse.

In Lee and Itawamba counties, however, few were seriously injured.

Given the scope of destruction, the minimal loss of life was miraculous.

“It is amazing to see that amount of residential damage, the number of large trees that have been destroyed, the number of businesses that have been destroyed and the small amount of lost lives,” Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said after touring the area the next day.

The storm system, which began in the Central and Southern plains, would continue to push eastward, bringing torna-

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A home on Joyner Avenue, which used to be surrounded by oak and pine trees, was typical of the neighborhood’s Cathy Norman tries to climb through debris and get to damage. her house on Marquette Street.

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A Tupelo man makes his way down Jackson Street and away the damaged area.

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Kevin Barnes goes through what’s left of his house on Elquin Gonzalez walks by the Steak Escape and Sleep Inn along heavily damaged North Gloster Street that MonClayton Street after the storm. day evening.

Acres, Legion Lake, Lynn Circle, the North Gloster Street business district, North Green Street, the Tupelo Housing Authority, Vista Ridge Apartments, Old Saltillo Road and the Auburn community.

The damage came quickly, but so did the recovery.

From the moment the winds slowed, neighbors were climbing through wreckage to check on one another. By the next morning, area residents were carrying chain saws and clearing trees for friends, relatives or those they had never before met.

Soon afterward, the response grew broader with individuals from across the state and nation com-

ing to help – some with stories of how they had been helped by Tupeloans during past disasters.

The community spirit that has come to define Tupelo took root more than three-quarters of a century earlier when a 1936 tornado killed more than 200 residents and destroyed most of the city.

Residents pulled together then to help one another rebuild, forging a culture of cooperation that has come to define the region.

After Tupelo was struck by its first major tornado since then, that ethos was again on display. This time, the operative phrase was “Tupelo Strong.”

Among the damaged landmarks was Joyner Ele-

mentary, a kindergarten to second-grade school with a close connection to the neighborhood that shared its name. Striking at the time when school normally dismisses, the tornado ripped off shingles, punched a hole in the school’s roof and shredded the metal surface that covered the kindergarten classrooms. Those rooms had more than an inch of standing water, while other parts of the building also received water damage.

Just one week later, the school was back in service, however, thanks to hours of work by crews from inside and outside the district, as well as many volunteers. Firstand second-graders were

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able to complete the final three weeks of the year in their normal classrooms, while kindergartners moved to Church Street School to close the year.

“It is overwhelming to see their smiles and hugs,” Joyner PE teacher Glenda Clay said after students returned for the first time after the storm. “It makes us adults realize how blessed we are.”

More extensive renovations were completed during the summer, and the school reopened for everyone in August.

The city and Lee County secured several million dollars in federal disaster aid to pay for cleanup, and the Tupelo City Council approved design guide-

lines for the repair and rebuilding of several of the hardest-hit neighborhoods that sought the protection to maintain their pre-tornado character.

Services continue at St. Luke United Methodist Church, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and St. James Catholic Church which all were damaged – while First Christian Church rebuilds after being completely destroyed.

Most of the businesses damaged on North Gloster Street are back in operation, although some were cleared to the bare slab, and the space they once occupied now stands empty.

Homeowners have returned during the past year, while others have packed up and decided to live elsewhere. Some say they began to again sense normalcy once shattered trees and scarred pieces of debris were hauled from their neighborhoods.

“One of the challenges immediately after the storm is the question of whether others would build back and what the neighborhood would be like in five to 10 years,” said Bob Swanson, who lives in the hard-hit Sharon Hills neighborhood. “...The majority of people who had damage have come back and are not just rebuilding but improving.”

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Pontotoc firemen clear trees off State Highway 6 in the Furrs community that afternoon after the storm passed through the area.

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Storm stories

Everyone touched by the tornado that day has a story, both about the immediate experience and what they have learned from it looking back over the past year. On the next three pages are some of those stories.

BY RILEY MANNING DAILY JOURNAL

Megan Robinson’s home sat right next to St. Luke United Methodist Church in the Joyner neighborhood before it was leveled completely.

Luckily, she and her family weren’t there. They waited out the storm in a relative’s storm shelter near Verona.

“I could see it as we were driving out of town.

You could see the black wall,” she said. “I have an 8-year-old daughter so I tried not to alarm her.”

When they emerged,

Robinson checked Facebook out of reflex, and saw reports of people trapped in their homes.

After working their way back to their neighborhood, she found her house flattened.

“You just don’t ever think it’s going to happen to you. I mean, I had laid out meat for dinner, you know? There’s no words. It was just a normal day.

Then you come home and you have nothing.”

Over the following months, Robinson wrangled with insurance and decided to relocate.

“It was hard to live in it

each day. My daughter said one morning, ‘Mama, can we pick a different route to school?

Because I don’t like seeing this every day,’” Robinson said.

Looking back, she said the experience has shown her how little material things matter. Literally, she said, any day with your family and friends could be the last.

“They told us if we had been there, we would be dead. One of the parts that was completely gone is where we would have been. That was so surreal to me,” she said.

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Richard McCluney, in his new vehicle, holds a Daily Journal photo of him returning to retrieve items from his truck, which had been totaled during the tornado after he stopped at a service station on North Gloster Street.

‘It just reminds you how great Tupelo is’ the weather got bad.

Just a few minutes from his house, “the bottom fell A prayer Richard Mcout.” McCluney said he Cluney’s family always was called to a gas station says together never meant on the corner of Gloster so much to him as after and Green streets where the Memphis native rode he parked his vehicle and out the 2014 tornado prayed. parked at a gas station in McCluney remembers his Chevy Tahoe. the windows of his truck “There’s one prayer my imploding and a strong wife says with my boys pull dragging him and his every day where she says, truck backward. Seconds ‘Lord ... watch over my ve- later, he awoke on the hicle and my husband’s to other side of the parking keep us safe on the road,” lot in a daze.

McCluney said. “It He was eventually worked.” picked up by a local perMcCluney was on his son driving the streets ofway home after a shift at fering assistance, and he North Mississippi Medical rode out the storm at a Center, hoping to pick up day care building. He rehis family and bring them turned later that day to reback to the hospital before trieve some personal

BY ROD GUAJARDO DAILY JOURNAL

items from his totaled truck and wound up giving several interviews to television reporters on scene.

The outpouring of support from his friends and family, and the recovery process he’s seen Tupelo residents go through in the past year, have confirmed everything he already knew about the city he’s called home for five years.

“Having gone through something like this and feeling like you almost lost your life, but then getting this wave of support from everyone was incredible,” McCluney said. “To see that and all these people coming out to help, it just reminds you of how great Tupelo is.”

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Bill and Bonnie Mims, from left, weren’t in town when the tornado hit but son Chad, right, and wife Aletha and children Marley, 5, and Olivia Kate, 9, rode out the storm in the basement of their North Clayton Avenue home. Neighbors’ homes on either side were destroyed.

‘We know our neighbors better now’

BY WILLIAM MOORE DAILY JOURNAL

Bill and Bonnie Mims were not at home, but their basement was the place to be.

Fifteen adults and children along with three dogs and several cats rode out the tornado under the North Clayton Avenue house.

“We were on the way back from Texas and kept getting calls all that day,” said Bonnie. “So we knew the weather was bad.

“Our son Chad called and asked which part of the basement was the strongest. We told him the back, where it is surrounded on three sides by concrete blocks.”

The crowd in the basement survived unscathed.

The free-standing garage and shop were gone. The house had some roof damage but it survived.

The same could not be said for the houses on either side.

“Shortly after it hit, Chad called and used Facetime to walk around and show us the damage,” said Bill. “I couldn’t tell where he was pointing the camera because everything was so different. You couldn’t get your bearings.”

The Mimses got back to Tupelo after dark and had to show ID to prove they belonged there. It wasn’t until the next morning they were able to see the devastation their neighbors faced.

“Our main habitat survived but two doors

down, the house was completely destroyed,” said Bill.

“We were lucky,” said Bonnie. “We could close the front blinds and it was like it never happened.

But the second you stepped out the door, it was back to reality.”

After living in the same house for 38 years, there were no thoughts of moving. Going through something that life-changing has brought the neighborhood closer together.

“It’s funny, we know our neighbors better now than ever, and we’ve lived here almost 40 years,” said Bill. “We have something in common. Before, if you saw someone outside, you would wave.

Now, you go over and talk with them.”

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Sandra Peoples of the Houston community in Itawamba County stands on the front porch of her new house. It’s been one year since Peoples lost her home of more than four decades to the April tornado that ravaged Lee and Itawamba counties.

‘All my memories were in that house’

BY ADAM ARMOUR ITAWAMBA COUNTY TIMES

Houston community’s Sandra Peoples said her new mobile home isn’t very much like her old house.

In many ways, it’s better. It’s larger, for one thing, and has far more modern amenities than the house she called home for nearly 50 years.

But it’s just not the same.

“It’s very strange, but it’s getting better,” she said of living in the mobile home

that replaced her house of 47 years, which was lost during last April’s tornado.

“For a while, it felt like I was visiting some place,” she said. “And when I went to bed, it was like I was in a motel room or something.”

Although she’s been in her new home since July, it’s just now beginning to feel like it’s where she belongs. So much of her past was tied up in the old place. It wasn’t just Peoples’ “things” that were lost to the storm; it was

her history.

“This is where me and my husband lived. My kids were born and raised here,” she said. “I’m thankful for what I’ve got now. But I had to give up a lot to get what I got now.

“All my memories were in that house … and there were a lot of memories,” she added.

Peoples’ new place doesn’t quite feel like home just yet. But it will get there.

“I’m building new memories here,” she said.

‘God taught us quick that things don’t matter’

BY MICHAELA GIBSON MORRIS DAILY JOURNAL

Before the April 28th tornado, Jean Circle was a waving kind of neighborhood.

Now it’s a stop-and-talk neighborhood, said Trish and Ronnie Johnson.

“It did bring the neighborhood closer together,” Trish Johnson said.

The tornado scored a direct hit on the small neighborhood off County Road 811. The walls of the Johnsons’ house held, but they lost their roof, vehicles and more than 30 trees around their home.

“There was so much damage, so quickly,” RonTHOMAS WELLS | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM nie Johnson said.

A cross cut out of shattered tree trunk reminds Trish Johnson of the blessings she In the chaos, there were and husband Ronnie share as they rebuild their Jean Circle home. little signs of grace. One of

their dogs, Lola, was blown away from the house, but found near the Sprint Mart and brought home. A box of crystal survived unbroken.

A metal tree swing beloved by grandson Bryson Burk was found unscathed in the wreckage of a massive oak tree.

Over the past year, they have replaced the roof, ceilings and floors throughout the house. Independence Day marked with the completion of a new roof.

“July 4th was one of the happiest days,” Trish Johnson said.

There are still bumps in the road, like the fridge that doesn’t fit after new floors were installed.

“It seems like we get one thing fixed and something

else pops up,” Trish Johnson said.

The Johnson said they’ve learned to take their slowmoving recovery as it comes.

“God taught us quick that things don’t matter,” Trish Johnson said. “It prepared us for what was to come.”

Over the past 12 months, they’ve lost their son-in-law Brett Burk to kidney failure due to a rare autoimmune disease, five other close friends and half a dozen aunts and uncles.

“It still hurts,” Ronnie Johnson said.

But they consider themselves lucky, saying it could have been so much worse.

“We’re only here because he blessed us,” Trish Johnson said.

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‘You come home and you have nothing’

STORM STORIES

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‘We were all sort of in shock’

BY RILEY MANNING DAILY JOURNAL

Father Lincoln Dall, priest at St. James Catholic Church in Tupelo, waited out the storm in the basement of the St. James office, behind the church on Gloster Street. Huddled with the two office cats, he said all he could hear above was the great snap-

ping of trees.

“I was just really surprised when I came out of the basement,” Dall said. “I went in my office and a tree had come completely through the roof. It was very shocking to see all the damage.”

Dall estimated around 100 trees had been brought down on the property in only a few min-

utes. Within an hour of the tornado hitting, parishioners from around the area showed up to check on the church. Several congregation members lived in the Joyner area, and St. James’ Hispanic minister Elquin Gonzalez lost his convenience store a stone’s throw from the church.

“I think we were all sort of in shock,” Dall said. “We had a lot of

people affected by it. Most people, I think, have either purchased new homes if their homes were destroyed or are back in their own homes.”

Dall had experienced tornadoes in Yazoo City and North Carolina, and the heavy floods of El Nino during his time missioning in Ecuador. These experiences, he said, always remind

him how people are capable of recovering together, and to not take life for granted quite as much.

“A lot of the churches and community organizations just came together and helped each other out,” Dall said. “That’s a good aspect of Tupelo in general. People are very collaborative here.”

BY MICHAELA GIBSON MORRIS DAILY JOURNAL

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Jessica Fears, left, husband Alfred, right, and their two children have just moved backed into their home near Elvis Presley Lake that was badly damaged in last year’s tornado.

‘God in the midst of destruction’

BY DENNIS SEID DAILY JOURNAL

Jessica and Alfred Fears happily accepted a willow tree from their insurance agent last week as they finally moved back into their home.

The tornado heavily damaged the Fears’ home near Elvis Presley Lake and it also ripped away the canopy of trees that once surrounded them.

“You wouldn’t know we had any neighbors with all the trees that used to be here,” said Jessica.

They appreciated the gift, viewing the gesture as another symbol of rebuilding.

The Fears remember April 28, 2014, vividly. Jessica was at work at North Mississippi Medical Cen-

ter in Tupelo, while Alfred was at home with their two boys, ages 7 and 6.

He and their sons went to the basement when Jessica called them, and Alfred did his best to keep them calm.

Alfred didn’t see anything and couldn’t hear anything except water running upstairs.

“When I came upstairs and opened the door, I looked straight up in the air and there wasn’t a top,” he said.

Jessica finally made it back home three hours later, after winding her way through debris and rubble.

“The trees were gone, the house was hit, rain was raining into the house, things were getting wet,” she said. “The boys

were OK, my husband was fine, so life was OK at that point. But we didn’t have a house.”

The Fears lived in a hotel for a couple of weeks, before finding a rental house in west Tupelo, where they stayed until they moved back into their home.

In the aftermath of the storm and destruction, the Fears saw and felt hope.

“One good experience was the neighbors came together, neighbors we didn’t know we had,” Alfred said. “Everybody pitched in.”

Friends and strangers worked side-by-side, helping each other.

“You can see the work of God in the midst of destruction,” Jessica added.

Suzzett Hart wasn’t having a good day before the April 28 tornado touched down in Tupelo.

“I had a stomach virus,” Hart remembered.

The plan was to head to Barnes Crossing Urgent Care with daughter Cynthia in tow because classes at Carver Elementary had been dismissed early. But Hart’s boyfriend, Bradley Boose, turned them back toward their apartment on North Green Street.

“He looked at the sky and said we’ve better go back home,” Hart said.

“Those clouds just weren’t right.”

The trio took shelter in a downstairs closet, trying

to reassure the terrified Cynthia.

“We heard the wind, and it was right there,” Hart said. “We went outside and everything had changed.”

The roof was peeled back and some siding ripped away from their apartment building, but they didn’t have the worst damage in the Tupelo Housing Authority complex. The roof damage exposed the upstairs portion of the apartment to the elements, ruining beds and electronics. They were able to retrieve clothes and move the downstairs furniture into a protected space, but they couldn’t remain in the apartment.

They ended up at the shelter at the BancorpSouth Arena.

“I was there for three nights,” Hart said.

For the next month, Hart and her daughter lived with her sister, Shalunda Gardner, while they waited for repairs on their apartment. Carver Elementary and the United Way helped the little family get back on its feet.

“It was a blessing to have family around that you can depend on,” Hart said.

Earlier this year, they moved to a new apartment. In all, Hart feels like the family is in a better place, but the memories of that day still linger.

“Cynthia still gets nervous about storms,” Hart said. “Every time it starts raining really hard, she asks, is a tornado coming?”

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Suzzett Hart and her daughter Cynthia, 7, rode out the April 28 tornado in their North Green Street apartment. “It’s a blessing that nothing happened to us,” Hart says.

‘It did sound like a train’ room, the cat in another while she and the kids, ages 1 to 11, climbed into Jaime McGrath and her the concrete block-lined five children huddled in a hole. And they waited. hole in the floor as the tor“It did sound like a train nado destroyed the and it shook the foundaBelledeer home above tion of the house,” said them.

McGrath. “We were won“It was an old house dering if the house was and had a floor furnace,” going to fall on top of us.” said McGrath. “A few Instead, four large oak weeks before, my hustrees fell on the house band Steve removed the causing substantial damfurnace. He looked at the age. hole and said if anything “We could feel it raining happens, that’s where you on us, but I wouldn’t let and the kids need to be.” the kids out until the At 2:30 that Monday afwarning had passed at ternoon, her phone got the 3:15,” said McGrath. tornado warning, which Everyone, including the was to last until 3:15. She pets, made it through the put the dog in one bathstorm safe and sound. The

BY WILLIAM MOORE DAILY JOURNAL

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Maria Everett was lucky enough not to lose her house but she lost every tree in her yard and most of her neighbors’ trees landed in her yard – with one crashing through her kitchen wall.

house, their home for nine years, was too far gone. One of the few things they were able to save was a baby grand piano.

“My mother-in-law passed away about two months before,” said McGrath, “so there was an empty house on Highland Circle that we were able to move into while we figured out what to do.”

They ended up buying a fixer-upper on a quiet street that would allow the children to play outside.

“We knew there would be a lot of renovations involved,” said McGrath, “but we’ve been taking it one project at a time.”

‘Everyone was helping so much’

BY ROD GUAJARDO DAILY JOURNAL

Even though her mother rode out one of the most devastating tornados in the country’s history in 1936, Maria Everett didn’t grow up with a fear of storms.

But that didn’t mean she ignored the warnings from friends and co-workers on April 28, 2014, when an EF3 tornado was heading toward Tupelo.

Everett left North Mississippi State Hospital, where she works as a nurse, and rushed back to her Joyner Neighborhood house after a stop at her parents’ house next door.

“I was heading back to my house from checking

on my parents when I saw this thing in the sky,” Everett said. “It didn’t look like a tornado, but just like a big angled storm front coming this way.”

She rode out the storm in her Tuscan-style house she’s owned since 2001 for what felt like an eternity, even though she was later told the actual devastation around her home lasted all of 15 seconds.

After the roar of the storm quieted, Everett ventured outside to find what seemed like half of the neighborhood’s trees in her front and back yards.

The house itself received minimal damage, while her parent’s house was significantly damaged. Her brother’s house across

from that, where her nephew lives, wasn’t damaged much.

The outpouring of support from her friends, coworkers and neighbors following the storm still amazes Everett.

“Everyone was helping so much and to see everyone coming together really made me proud to be living in the Joyner area,” Everett said. “It was the Joyner spirit coming out to help.”

The loss of her father later that year in November made 2014 a rough year for Everett. But she’s hopeful that with the repairs to her house and getting her mother back in their family home, 2015 will continue to be a better year.

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The McGrath children, standing from left, Ethan, Hannah and Deuce, and seated, Tess and Quentin, sit next to the baby grand piano their parents, Jaime and Steve McGrath, managed to salvage from their devastated home in Belledeer.

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‘Those clouds just weren’t right’

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emerged to a sight that was even more sickening.

“The thing I remember Kathy Hallmark vividly the most is coming out of remembers the smell inthe storm house and just side the storm house. coming over the top of “You could smell tree the hill and seeing it, bark,” she remembers one everything I knew ripped year later. “It just took your away in a matter of secbreath away, almost nauonds,” said Jacob Lyle, 26, seating of the smell of tree Hallmark’s nephew. bark, so you knew everyMembers of the Lyle thing was being torn up.” family own four houses Hallmark was in the tucked near each other storm house with 12 fam- on land the family has ADAM ROBISON | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM ily members as the torhad for decades. All four Four houses owned by members of the Lyle family suffered significant damage after nado passed directly had heavy damage. Rethe tornado passed over their land on County Road 1766 in the Auburn community overhead their property building began quickly. of Lee County, but all have since been rebuilt. Thirteen family members huddled in a on County Road 1766, The last house to be restorm shelter as it struck, and two more were in a house across the street. Pictured just off Auburn Road in paired – that of Kathy and are Paul Lyle, front row, from left; Lynn Lyle; Dorothy Lyle; Rachel Lyle, back row, from eastern Lee County.

Tim Hallmark – was comleft; Barry Lyle; Jacob Lyle; Fisher Lyle; Baylee Hallmark; Kathy Hallmark and Tim Once the din of falling pleted a week before Hallmark. Behind them is Tim and Kathy’s home, which was completely rebuilt and debris ceased, five gener- Thanksgiving. is where everyone gathered for Thanksgiving and Christmas. ations of the Lyle family That’s where everyone

BY CHRIS KIEFFER DAILY JOURNAL

gathered to celebrate an emotional holiday.

“I think that is probably the best Thanksgiving because we realized after the tornado what is the most important, and that is family,” Kathy Hallmark said. “Things can be replaced, and houses can be rebuilt, but that was the first time we had a Thanksgiving with the entire family in 17 years, so that was awesome.”

As destructive as the twister was, they could be thankful to have all survived it.

“In the last year, we’ve seen more of God’s work than most people ever see in their lives,” Jacob Lyle said.

Readers share tornado experiences, lessons COMPILED BY M. SCOTT MORRIS DAILY JOURNAL

The Daily Journal asked readers to share their stories about what happened on April 28, 2014, and over the days that followed.

Some of the accounts have been edited for space and style:

fully realize my path as an interfaith clergy member, working well with people who are grieving losses.

“I’ve grieved more than my fair share in 26 years of life, but it has allowed a depth of experience in my life which allows me to take someone’s hand, look them in the eye, and say, ‘I’ve been there. I will walk with you.’” – Zola Pickett, Tupelo

THE DAY AFTER

“I grabbed our 12month-old from his crib WHAT’S IMPORTANT and sprinted to the hall “From friends helping closet. As I ran, all I saw with clean up to those let- through the front door was ting us stay in their extra total grayness. I braced home, we myself over all three chilhave been dren through the roar. so blessed.

“Driving back to Joyner If I had to from my parents’ in Ripley pick the the next day was when it biggest all hit me. The devastation. blessings, it I pulled over on McCulwould be lough for a few minutes in Hallmark restored re- complete shock. lationships.

“It took me two weeks to “Not only was Thanksstomach driving down giving the first in our new Gloster. I am thankful home, but the first with every day that the tornado my dad’s family in over 15 only damaged the replaceyears. I have family back in able at our house that church. We have a newday.” – Lauren Babb, Tufound understanding of pelo what is important: God and family.” – Kathy HallTRAPPED mark, Auburn community “When the tornado hit our home at 1504 Clayton A NEW VOLUNTEER Ave., Tupelo, granddaugh“As a part of the Comter Brooke, Charles and I munity Recovery Team, I were home. Brooke took met lots of wonderful peo- shelter in the bathtub with ple and was quilts and inspired to dog. become a Charles was volunteer in front of with our me in the local chaphallway. ter of the “ShinAmerican gles, Picket Milam Red Cross. sheetrock, “Also, glass, etc. being a compassionate, pelted my back. The house safe presence for people in exploded and the furnace the disaster recovery cenfell across the hallway, ter helped me to more knocking me to the floor,

trapping my foot and leg.

“Charles was hit on the head and shoulders by two-by-fours. Brooke was okay.

“Called 911, and heard a young man on the street calling out looking for survivors. He took care of Brooke, tried to calm us, and sat in the floor helping keep my face out of water and debris. More rescuers came. They helped us out and to an ambulance.” – Martha Milam, Saltillo (formerly Tupelo)

‘DOWN THE HILL’

“My tornado story is not my story, but that of my 90-year-old mother, Jerolene Westmoreland…

“My sister and I were very concerned about Mother staying the night (after the storm).

“I called 911 to see if there was any help available. Very competent people assured me they would give Mother’s name and Jerolene address to Westmoreland the fire department who were attempting to get people out of their homes.

“Sometime later that night, firemen braved the downed lines and trees to bring Mother down the hill. But, she wouldn’t leave! She insisted she would be fine there with my brother. And so, she stayed the night.” – Nancy Westmoreland Golding, Belden (writing about her mother, Jerolene Westmoreland, Tupelo)

‘BARELY ANY TREES’

“When the tornado hit, I was at Ms. Kathryn’s basement. There were eight

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kids, six adults and one dog trying to squeeze into one bathroom.

“I saw signs that the tornado was hitting, like the lights going on and off until it was a complete blackout.

Swanson No electricity.

“When the tornado passed over, there were barely any trees. Ms. Kathryn’s car was badly damaged. My friend Jackson’s house was damaged.

The blue house (which I claim is haunted) was torn down.

“We lost all of our electricity, so we had to stay at our grandparents’ house for a week.

“One more thing, after the tornado, we built a sunroom.

“I am glad I was safe, but most of all, I am glad my family is safe.” Daniel “D.J.” Swanson, Tupelo

of duty to insure that residents of Tupelo were well informed, prepared and stayed safe during this storm.

“He says that he was only doing his job. But this man was on it, and he wouldn’t let us ignore it.

Thanks, Matt Laubhan, for being a lifesaver!” – Patricia Dorsey, Tupelo

ANNIVERSARY TO REMEMBER

“April 28, 2014, was a very special day for my husband and me. We were married on that day 63 years ago.

“We spent the afternoon in the storm shelter with nine people we dearly love and five dogs.

“I may have ten more anniversaries, but this will be one we will always remember.” – George and Glenda Self, Guntown

‘PRETTY MUCH GONE’

‘LIGHT POLES FLYING’

“I was trying to get to our church basement at Parkway Baptist Church and ended up two blocks from it due to flying debris.

“I witnessed the awesome power of nature in a driveway of a student who I had taught some 10-15 years earlier. The air was green as I saw trees, Edwards garbage cans and light poles flying through the air. Only God could have kept me calm, because I was that.

“The car next to me was demolished. Neither I or my car were touched. Half of the houses were destroyed, and as we made our way down Kincannon, I was still a mile from home on James Drive.

“Yes, we needed a new roof, and lost four of our big trees. It made me realize how thankful I should always be.” – Pat Edwards, Tupelo

THE WEATHERMAN

“So many people said that they did not hear any type of warning sirens that day. Yet, out of all of the destruction, there was only one death. I truly believe that Matt (Laubhan’s) Dorsey warnings contributed greatly to this almost unbelievable statistic.

“We know that God is ultimately in control, but our weatherman went above and beyond the call

Rhannon, left, Landon and Jacoby Whaley (writer’s children) “We didn’t know that the tornado even went through. We were heading home and came to the curve at Auburn and came to our road.

“There were light poles down, trees everywhere. It was the most horrible thing I’ve ever experienced. Our house was pretty much gone. Clothes in the yard, whole roof gone, glass everywhere.

“It took until the next day before we could get to the house. The hardest part was starting over with nothing. Nowhere to go, nowhere to call home. But the only thing my husband could say was, ‘We are alive. That’s all that matters.’ He was thrown out of the house and had to go to the ER. “We found out what people do when there is a family in need. Auburn Baptist Church helped our family so much. God sent them to us. We thank them so much. Words would never explain how we feel.” – Selena Whaley, Auburn community

SCHOOL INTERRUPTED

“On the day of the tornado, I went to school and we did math, lunch, and snacktime.

Daddy picked me up and he knew a torFrazier nado was coming. He got me into my bathroom with my pillow and the

tornado came. Daddy was on the phone and I was on the Kindle.

“The tornado knocked our big tree down and I saw it out the window. The neighborhood was gray and it was raining. I was brave.

“We had to tell people driving around that trees were in the road and that they had to go another way. We got to eat at St. Luke with our neighbors. We got to plant new flowers and plants where the tree used to be.” – Josephine Frazier, Tupelo

MISSING DOGS

“I was trying to find our dogs and at the same time my phone was cutting in and out on my boyfriend. I was telling him what I was seeing and he kept saying, ‘Can you open the front door?’

“I said, ‘No, because there is a huge tree in our living room!’ “…Our neighbor walked over and asked if I had dogs. I said, ‘Yes!’ I called them, and one of them ran up and jumped on me and the other one was in the front yard.

“I ran around to get him. He and my little dog immediately saw a squirrel and they ran after it, killed it and the lab brought it to me and laid it by my feet. My neighbor said, ‘I’ll take care of this for you.’” – Susan Davis, Tupelo

AN INSPIRATION

“As a meteorologist with the federal government in Washington, D.C., I had warned my family in Tupelo of the potential for tornadoes on April 28…

“After calling my mom, Jimmie Haynes, and telling her to take cover, I Haynes tuned to WTVA’s live online coverage to hear Matt Laubhan announce that the tornado was sighted on West Jackson Street approaching my mom’s Bristow Acres neighborhood. The connection was then lost.

“The following minutes were some of the longest of my life before I reached her via cellphone.

“Her strength and determination in the face of any odds will always be a source of inspiration. Additionally, I will never cease to be in awe of the courage and community spirit of my brother, Capt. Rusty Haynes of the Tupelo Police Department, in risking his life in the aftermath as a first responder.” – John Haynes, Alexandria, Virginia

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‘We realized ... what is the most important’

DAILY JOURNAL

TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015

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Damaged churches reflect on a year of spiritual hindsight

BY RILEY MANNING

TUPELO – Six months ago, the Rev. Rick Brooks stood in the husk of St. Luke United Methodist Church’s sanctuary.

Half a year after the storm Tupelo won’t soon forget, he said he was looking forward to six more months of progress. Following the storm, it was revealed the structure had pre-existing foundation issues, along with a few other problems.

“Now we’re getting things fixed that we can actually see,” Brooks said.

St. Luke took the opportunity to redesign its kitchen and some of its classrooms, but after 12 months of meeting in the church’s gym, construction finally began on the church’s face, including its steeple, in mid-April.

Brooks said it would be a sight for sore eyes for the congregation.

“It’s taken us out of our comfort zone, but in a way, that’s good,” he said. “Before the tornado, we had two services, but since it we’ve had a combined one, and we had the biggest crowd we’ve ever had for Easter this year.”

He said it would be fall, at best, before services could be resumed in the sanctuary.

Next door, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, the Rev. David Mac Kain said they were tying up the final loose ends after extensive flooding and roof damage from the storm. The church sits beside a natural spring, so Mac Kain estimated it would take until the end of the summer to complete the landscaping.

However, the congregation resumed services in the sanctuary just in time for Christmas.

“Worshipping in the furniture market for eight months was tough. Originally, we weren’t supposed to be in it by Christmas, but we begged the contractors to let us,” he said. “It was the most special Christmas ever. It was different, with no decorations, but it was our home and God’s home, too.”

Across McCullough Boulevard, visible construction is finally taking place at First Christian Church, which was completely demolished.

“There was certainly some weariness before activity started in January.

But now that they’re working, moving dirt, getting the slab ready, there’s a spirit of hopefulness,” said the Rev. Sherry Horton, pastor of First Christian.

For the past year, First

A year has passed, and I again want to thank all of Tupelo Water & Light employees, Mayor Jason Shelton, City Departments, City Council, City Administrators, and staff for their dedication and hard work the past twelve months. Our city was dealt a blow by the storm, but we all came together to come back strong. We still have work to do, but the progress is evident.

ADAM ROBISON | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM

JESCO workers raise the new steeple into place at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Tupelo in December.

Christian’s congregation has met in temporary buildings on the church grounds. Working with Architecture South, the building committee now has only superficial details to decide upon. In the meantime, Horton said she’s seen what she can only describe as a miracle.

“Every person and church goes through challenges, but this is not your typical, everyday challenge,” she said. “It’s been a huge opportunity for spiritual growth, and growth in our numbers, as well. New members are joining, and we ran out of seating for Easter. It’s unbelievable how it’s going.”

She reported generous donations from all over the nation, as well as from local churches, including one from a Harrisburg Baptist Church Sunday school class. She also credited her congregation, and claimed their spiritual insight to be a profound source of comfort to her.

“It just showed me that this is the best community to be in,” she said. “Not just the church, but the whole town.”

For now, Horton said the builders plan to be finished by December.

“You know how building goes,” she said, “But it at least gives us a target to look toward.”

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Tupelo continues to be an “All American City.” #TUPELOSTRONG Johnny Timmons Director of Tupelo Water & Light

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DAILY JOURNAL

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DAILY JOURNAL

Volunteers, financial donations came in abundance

BY RILEY MANNING DAILY JOURNAL

ADAM ROBISON | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM

George Scott of Tupelo volunteers his time by helping remove downed trees at Jeff Monagahn’s home on Ackia Trail on the Wednesday after the tornado. with their need.”

To be honest, Tidwell said, the United Way had no idea what the volunteer turnout would be. All said and done, the United Way registered over 3,000 volunteers, 80 percent of them from a 50-mile radius. Together, they logged over 29,000 hours of work.

“By far, the people who came were mostly local,” Tidwell said. “Mississippi is a caring place.”

Susan Gilbert, social services director for the Salvation Army, praised the volunteer response, as well as the aid agencies’ ability to communicate and work in tandem.

For the Army, the logistics centered around people displaced by the storm who were renting their residences. While homeowners were stuck waiting for insurance to work itself out, Gilbert said about 75 of the 250 or so families displaced were renters, most living in the Joyner neighborhood, but others residing in Lee and Itawamba

ADAM ROBISON | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM

Phillip Roland of Carthage picks up a stack of fence planks as he and fellow Eight Days of Hope workers put up a fence at the home of Lauren Zeulzke on Eugene Street in Tupelo in July.

All of them.”

Money was needed, of course, and the region responded generously. A tornado relief fund administered by the CREATE Foundation raised more than $400,000 in contributions with the aid of a mediathon sponsored by local media outlets, and a volunteer committee from the community oversaw dispersements.

LAUREN WOOD | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM

Woodmen of the World member Cynthia Montgomery, EIGHT DAYS OF HOPE center, works with others to create boxed lunches for The largest single donathose affected by the tornado at Auburn Baptist Church. tion from that fund, Hundreds of meals were distributed form the church the $100,000, went to help the week of the storm. huge wave of aid that came in July when Eight counties. About half of property. Gilbert said the Days of Hope sprang into those were already clients city of Tupelo and the action in its own backyard. of the Salvation Army in United Way were instruDrawing 3,000 helpers one form or another. mental in obtaining furfrom 43 states, the volun“The fact is there aren’t niture for them, and teers repaired around 235 enough rental properties FEMA helped victims pay homes as well as several the average person can af- for initial deposits and churches and parks. ford,” Gilbert said. “And the other expenses on new “It’s amazing to knock vast majority of them don’t residences. on someone’s door, or the have renter’s insurance, so “The community place where their door they lost everything.” stepped up like it always was, and say, ‘We’re going Fortunately, most of does,” Gilbert said. “We to fix your house in eight them had relatives to actually have everyone days,” said Eight Days move in with or their who was displaced situpresident Steve Tybor. “It’s landlords had other open ated in a new residence. marvelous how people

come together with no mixed motives to love each other like God loves us.”

Like the Red Cross, Tybor was astonished by the number of volunteers – around 50 percent – that came from within 30 miles.

“It’s insane to watch,” said Charles Stephens, whose house was rebuilt from the slab up by Eight Days. “To see people who have never laid eyes on you a day in your life spend that kind of time, money and energy – words don’t do it justice.”

Since the tornado, Eight Days has established a quicker response team to arrive on the scene of a disaster within five to seven days, in addition to the full-fledged effort to come months later.

“It’s just amazing so many people couldn’t lay down to sleep at night knowing others needed help,” Tybor said. “The state of Mississippi, the city of Tupelo, we take care of our own.”

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Often disaster is measured in resources: number of trees felled, houses destroyed, cases of water, days without power, etc.

But last year when the tornado dissipated, the most important – and plentiful – resource was the thousands of volunteers who immediately appeared to help their neighbors.

“Everyone wants to do something, so our biggest job was organizing volunteers and making sure they went where was most efficient,” said Patty Tucker, executive director of the Northeast Mississippi Chapter of the American Red Cross. “It can get overwhelming, but it’s a good problem to have.”

Melinda Tidwell, executive director of the United Way of Northeast Mississippi, said in the days following the tornado, the United Way registered 2,000 volunteers through its station at the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

They used volunteers to do the obvious work – clearing limbs and debris – but also behind-thescenes jobs, like operating the United Way warehouse.

“The first couple of weeks are easy, in a way,” Tidwell said. “You can just say, ‘These are the streets that are hardest hit, help move the debris to the road.’ But at a point, you need specialized people who own and know how to operate equipment. Then the process became that of homeowners calling and telling us what they needed, and we would match volunteer groups

DAILY JOURNAL

TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015

Hospital put lessons from past storms into practice DAILY JOURNAL

‘You’re never fully prepared for it, but we were as prepared as we could be.’

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HOLY TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH Wishes to thank the community for your prayers, and the following for your service, in restoring our storm-tossed buildings:

HELPING EACH OTHER

Guide One Insurance GC3 Contractors and Sub Contractors JESCO, Inc. MBA Engineering Architecture KC Construction & Specialty Painting Wheeler Roofing Co. Tull Brothers, Inc.

The 2001 tornado in Pontotoc also impacted NMMC’s response to the tornado as an employer.

The hospital system created a Good Neighbor Fund, an employee assistance program.

Nearly 1,500 North Mississippi Health Services employees donate a dollar or more a pay period to the fund.

“The fund helps employees experiencing sudden/unexpected emergencies such as storm damage, house fires, sudden illness, or death of a family member and who also have limited financial resources,” said Dean Hancock, president of the Health Care Foundation, which manages the fund.

Although the individual donations are small, the strength in numbers is tremendous.

After the 2014 tornado, the fund provided $17,500 in assistance to 44 employees, Hancock said.

“At times like that, employees often want to do something to help others,” Hancock said.

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DONATIONS & VOLUNTEERS The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Disaster Response Shepherd’s Heart Disaster Response Ministry Hunter Douglas of Tupelo Shields Haire of Tupelo Mt. Calvary Social Ministry - Omaha, NE 8 Days of Hope Mr. & Mrs. Bob Gatlin of Tupelo St. Marks Lutheran Church Missouri Synod - Minot, ND Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Missouri Synod - Cleveland, MS Holy Trinity Lutheran Church & School Missouri Synod - Covington, LA St. John’s Lutheran Church Missouri Synod - Victor, IA St. James Lutheran Church Missouri Synod - Victor, IA

Mr. Alfred Gulseth - Alma, AR Holy Cross Lutheran Church Missouri Synod - Tuscaloosa, AL Luther Chapel - Pulaski, MS Trinity Lutheran Church Missouri Synod - Meridian, MS Mr. William Hoferkamp - Prospect, KY Caroline Gelbke - Gretna, LA Martha Kostenbader - Bucyrus, OH Lutheran Interparish School Missouri Synod - Williamsburg, IA Kent & Lynne Coleman - Highland Village, TX John & Maria Tenkhoff - Franklin, TN H. Riley & Jill Bock - New Madrid, MO

Donate to the

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Everybody was ready and anticipating what might be needed.

Two previous tornadoes “We had trauma surrevealed the path for geons lined up out the North Mississippi Medical back door ready to take Center to follow in the afthe next case,” said Luke termath of the April 28 tor- West, emergency departnado. ment physician manager.

Lessons learned from What could have gone the devaswrong didn’t, tating 2011 Johnsey said.

Smithville The commutornado nity heeded were incorthe warning porated into and took shelpolicies, ter, reducing said Dr. Joe the possibiliJohnsey, ties for inNMMC juries. The emergency hospital was department well out of the medical dipath of the Dr. Joe Johnsey rector. Drills tornado. helped them Out of the North Mississippi Medical turn the 30 injuries Center emergency department policies into treated in the medical director practice.

NMMC ER in “You’re the hours never fully prepared for it, after the tornado, only but we were as prepared as four were considered seriwe could be,” Johnsey said. ous. By comparison, the Even before the bad larger Smithville tornado weather arrived in Tupelo produced more injuries on April 28, preparations from flying debris. began. Nonessential surEven as well as things geries were rescheduled so went, there’s still room for operating rooms were improvement. available for trauma. Staff “We still look for ways to who were off started com- handle the flow better,” ing back into the hospital. Johnsey said.

BY MICHAELA GIBSON MORRIS

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doing their assigned tasks to get ready. Public Works made sure tractors, chain TUPELO – No emersaws and generators were gency plan is perfect, but all fueled and ready. Firethe city of Tupelo was fighters checked to make ready when the tornado sure the trucks were fully hit last April. stocked with supplies.

“In my opinion, we were Someone went around to as prepared as we could make sure the public be,” said Thomas Walker, storm shelters were unTupelo’s fire chief and locked. emergency management “Since we had already coordinator. “A natural gone over the plan and asdisaster throws so many signed people to specific different things at you, you areas,” said Walker, “when can’t train for everything.” the tornado did hit, everyWeather forecasts had one know what they were warned for days the supposed to do and weather could turn nasty where.” that Monday, so Tupelo ofFirst responders immeficials decided to stage a diately took up the task of drill and roll out the city’s searching the devastated Emergency Action Plan areas for victims. Within that morning. eight hours, police and City employees started firemen had physically enBY WILLIAM MOORE DAILY JOURNAL

tered every house. Amazingly, everyone was accounted for and no one died.

“I don’t think you could have scripted it any better,” said Walker.

The tornado did reveal some inadequacies. The fire department did not have enough chain saws.

They now have three assigned to each engine as well as thermal cameras to help in search and rescue.

The Public Works department had trouble documenting clean-up work so the city could be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The department now uses daily work sheets that contain all the information and details needed by FEMA.

THOMAS WELLS | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM

Law enforcement begins to secure areas along North Gloster Street minutes after the tornado hit Tupelo.

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Though the tornado had devastating effects on our homes and neighborhoods, our sense of community was kindled by working together to rebuild.

New friendships formed.

New trees planted.

A renewed thankfulness.

Thank you to all of the volunteers and local businesses who put forth countless efforts of your time and resources to respond quickly and to put our community back together.

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Emergency plan was rolled out early that morning

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