Tornado

A black mailbox with white numbers “303” was all that was left. While planning a volunteer workday with my husband last Friday, we visited a rural part of Morgan County struck by the March 2 tornadoes. I'd heard the words “completely destroyed,” but I had no idea what they truly meant. The search for an insurance client led us down a rural road that is home to Kentucky's forestry service nursery. Long rows of tiny cultivated trees were unscathed, though littered with debris.

Students in schools all across Jessamine County crouched in hallways during a tornado warning Wednesday, Feb. 29, and wondered if any of their homes would be in the path of the dangerous storms. And after another round of storms two days later when they found out the county had been spared, they turned their attention to helping those who had been less fortunate. Preschoolers to high-school seniors have been collecting donations of money and needed items that will benefit those hit across the state by the deadly tornadoes March 2, including the town of West Liberty that was largely demolished.

Like many individuals and organizations throughout Kentucky, the Clark County Sheriff's Office has been helping fill needs in tornado-ravaged Morgan and Menifee counties. In the last two weeks, there have been at least four trips to the region with donated goods, and a deputy to help with law enforcement. And it all started with a post on Facebook. Clark County Sheriff Berl Perdue Jr. said the effort started March 3, the day after the tornadoes tore through Kentucky. “I got in touch with two of the sheriffs in the counties involved,” Perdue said.

Since the devastating tornado ripped through West Liberty March 2, Kentucky residents have flocked to the small Morgan County town to help with cleanup efforts and to help residents get their lives back together. Many Clark Countians and organizations were among the first to go and to send desperately needed supplies in the first hours following the tornado. While there were many people who lost their homes to the storm, destruction wasn't limited to residential areas, as much of downtown West Liberty also was destroyed or damaged, as were two of the town's schools.

WEST LIBERTY - About 130 miles and two-and-half hours separate Southside Christian Church in Harrodsburg from tornado-torn West Liberty Christian Church, but the distance has been less meaningful during a painful last week. Matthew Riley, youth pastor at Southside Christian, came back to his native Harrodsburg from West Liberty about two months ago with his wife Rachel, after serving in the same position there for almost six years. They got the news last Friday an F3 tornado had swept away much of the first town in which they lived, including the 100-year-old church where they spent so much of their time.

Last Friday, as news was coming through about the tornadoes wreaking havoc across the state, I was in The Winchester Sun newsroom, taking my turn on the night shift. My evening was largely spent figuring out what, if any, impact the storms would have on Clark County, and making sure we were able to get the information in the next day's paper. Maybe it was because I was working while the storms were hitting our neighbors in Morgan, Menifee, Johnson and other counties, but in the days that followed I found myself wondering about the reporters and newspapers in the hardest hit towns.

The area was spared the destruction from the tornadoes that ripped through southern and eastern Kentucky a week ago, but local emergency management personnel said the event reinforced the need for preparedness. With the most active months for tornadoes still ahead, Boyle County Emergency Management Director Lennie Shepperson said people should be ready for what might happen. Even though many of the tips about how to be ready and stay safe during severe weather are oft-repeated, some need to be drilled home as much as possible, Shepperson said.

I have always credited Kentucky as being one of the friendliest states there is in the United States. Kentuckians seem to be able to talk to most people anywhere. We are often accused of being too friendly, and sometimes that may hold true. My sister, for example, never met a stranger and I was appalled at how many complete strangers she invited to come visit her in Kentucky while we were in Europe, giving them her address. I had visions of a neverending group coming to her door.

Maybe it was just Lincoln County's turn to get a break from bad weather; the past few years have brought ice, rain and tornados that have damaged homes and upset lives. Bad weather, historically bad weather passed north and south of Lincoln County, and with the exception of some uprooted trees and minor property damage the county did fine. The bad weather really started Wednesday afternoon when a strong straight-line wind passed just north of the fairgrounds, toppling swing sets, downing trees and even flipping over a camper in the Sun  Valley development.