March 26, 2012

hope on the horizon Three weeks after a tornado ravaged Henryville, Ind. ISU students and staff lend a hand.

Relief efforts led by local church

3 ISU volunteers for Henryville relief

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7 Henryville Jr/Sr High School rebuilds

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Page 2 - Monday March 26, 2012

Letter from the Editor: Reader: This weekend ISU’s Center for Community Engagement took a second team to volunteer in the relief effort in Henryville, Ind. The Statesman was able to reserve four spots on the trip to document the trip and talk with the people of the town to tell their stories. Assistant features editor, Aaron Abel; News editor, Chris Sweeney; Photo editor, Jamie Nichols; and myself (Editor-in-Chief, Jessica Squires) travelled, stayed in cart-wagon cabin-tents and worked with the group.

In this issue we tell the stories of recovery from the angle of the group, a local church and the community’s school as well as give extra insights of the tornado through science and individual profiles.

After a tornado wrecked their already impoversihed town, the community isn’t seeking to return to the way they were before. They want to help people have a better life. Volunteers like those from ISU are providing much needed assistance to rebuild, restructure and gain stability.

Many of the students, and surely our staff, came back from the trip changed. I hope that as you move through this issue you will find yourself changed.

Jessica Squires Editor-in-Chief

Main: From Left to Right-Jessica Squires, Editor-in-Chief; Aaron Abel, Assistant features editor; Jamie Nichols, Photo editor; Chris Sweeney, News editor (Submitted photo).

Above: A saved hail ball from a resident of Henryville (Photo by Jessica Squires).

Right: Volunteers of ISU’s trip slept in covered-wagon cabins. Each cabin was made of concrete, had electricity, consisted of eight bunks and was covered by thin white tarp (Photo by Jamie Nichols).

Sycamores Serve Henryville

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Monday March 26, 2012 - Page 3

Sycamores Serve Henryville

Henryville: A model of resilience In my words H

Chris Sweeney News Editor

Chris Sweeney

A

s I sat in the passenger seat of a white utility van carrying ten other occupants, I quietly prepared myself for a roller coaster ride of physical and emotional weaknesses.

It was 10:45 a.m. when we finally exited the highway, approaching a sign that read “Welcome to Henryville.” In my mind, however, it wasn’t a welcoming place.

Trees and debris lay scattered throughout the town. Clothes, shoes and family photos that once hung in living rooms now hang from half split trees that remain rooted at 30 degree angles, creating a collage of unforgotten memories for Henryville natives.

While the Henryville community strives in its efforts to rebuild, volunteers from across the country poured in to lend a helping hand—including more than 30 Indiana State University students.

For those of us who live sheltered and adapted lives, the first hand look of Mother Nature’s devastation stomped a footprint on our heart. What we weren’t aware of, though, was the impact we would have on the victims who have nothing left, but memories of what their life used to be like before the storm.

At the time, it was unknown what kind of work we would be performing, or even what kind of people we would meet, but the spontaneity presented unity within the group.

cONTINUED ON PAGE 4

ENRYVILE —In the aftermath of a tornado that leveled a high school, destroyed hundreds of homes and left the 2,000 residents of a small southern Indiana town struggling to survive, Henryville is a model of resilience.

Three weeks after the EF-4 tornado passed through southern Indiana killing 12 people, the national media outlets’ reporters and satellite trucks are no longer staking a claim in the town.

Less than a quarter-mile from the heart of the town, basketball goals in Henryville Community Church gymnasium are unused – giving way instead to piles of canned goods, toilet paper and bottles of water that can help meet the needs of those who no longer have working appliances or even kitchens to prepare their food.

Henryville Community Church Pastor Rich Cheek has adapted his church to become Henryville’s centralized “healing station.” He and his church congregation have made it their mission to help the people who have lost their homes and everything in them. But he doesn’t consider any of the affected “victims.”

“I just don’t like using the word victim,” he said. “This is an opportunity for these people to start fresh” build lives better than those they lived before the storm, “and receive new opportunities.”

The 70-member Henryville Community Church congregation helps feed and share housekeeping supplies with as many as 1,500 people a day at their “healing station.”

It has become a hub where the townspeople share their stories of devastation, but they also share their optimism, Cheek said.

And there’s new reason for hope

nearly every day as buses full of willing volunteers arrive to offer assistance. One day last week, an envelope full of a Henryville family’s photos arrived at the church after a man found them in his front yard in Wyoming, Mich., 383 miles north of where the tornado touched down, Cheek said.

“It’s just an incredible thing,” Cheek said. “I never imagined that our church would be utilized in such a big way.”

It was the national media that helped set the stage for Henryville Community to launch into action. Just as the satellite trucks

were staking a claim on the town to spread heart-wrenching images to people throughout the world, Cheek wittingly posted a message on his Twitter account asking for plastic storage totes to help organize the donations that were arriving by the truckload.

“Within 45 seconds, we had a response from a college student whose mother worked for a plastics company,” Cheek said. “Almost three hours after he responded, there was a semi pulling into the lumber yard with a delivery.”

The lumberyard, abandoned and empty prior to the tornado,

has become a storage warehouse that is quickly becoming packed to capacity with boxes of clothing, diapers, canned goods, school supplies and other donated items that will be shared with the community over the next two years of recovery. It’s in that lumberyard that Mike and Megann D’Andrea have found their place to serve.

They were living in Florida when the tornado hit, but relocated to Henryville after they witnessed the devastation unravel on national television.

cONTINUED ON PAGE 4

“What is universal in every culture is people wanting to help other people.”

Pastor Rich Cheek Pastor Rich Cheek of Henryville Community Church listens to a story of a man and his family who lost everything in the tornado (Photo by Jessica Squires).

Page 4 - Monday March 26, 2012

Continued from page 3 Although lodging was provided for us, where we stayed was nothing expected.

Excited to unload our luggage and explore the less crushed area of disaster, a wooden wagon with a concrete foundation and thick plastic tarp soon struck our attention.

Was this where we were staying? Many of us recoiled at the thought of such primitive lodging, but quickly realized that the thick plastic tarp is what separates us from the citizens of Henryville.

It was then that everyday commodities became unrecognized and the experience of living with nothing became a reality.

Through the duration of our volunteering adventure, it was a common theme to witness citizens with a smile on their face despite losing everything they had during the storm.

Continued on page 5

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Sycamores Serve Henryville

A group of Fishers High School students arrive unexpecantly to Henryville Community Church on Saturday with a mission to volunteer (Photo by Jamie Nichols).

It is their faith, they say, that drove them to action.

“God told us that this is what we need to do,” Megann D’Andrea said. “We have a passion in our heart to serve and this is just one way that we

can live out our faith and help others.”

This isn’t the first time they moved across the country to help people left in the wake of disaster. The couple relocated to Joplin, Mo. in May 2011 for nine

months when an EF-5 tornado struck and took 165 lives.

“They are just amazing people,” Cheek said. “They are clear examples of people who are firm in their faith and live their lives based off of what they

believe God wants them to do.”

But the story of the D’Andreas is atypical in Henryville.

It’s more common to find Henryville residents helping themselves. Wes Hutchinson, a husband and father of five, lost

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half his home to wind and hail damage.

He spent the first week after the storm doing as much as he could to preserve what was left of the half of his home where his family is now living. Now he’s awaiting financial assistance from his insurance company and the federal government. Until the money arrives, he said he might as well be giving his free time to helping at the church’s warehouse.

“I am just trying to give back to my community what they’ve given me in a time of disaster,” Hutchinson said.

Indiana State Police Public Information Officer Sgt. Jerry Goodin says the outpouring of support for the town is incredible, but it’s not an entirely rosy picture. State Police have arrested looters who have tried to steal

cONTINUED ON PAGE 6 Right: Pastor Rich Cheek met with volunteers at the lumberyard (Photo by Jessica Squires).

Below: Canned goods and other items sit out for community members to pick up as needed (Photo by Jessica Squires).

Monday March 26, 2012 - Page 5

Sycamores Serve Henryville

“Ninety percent of people want to help and do something, but they simply don’t know where to start.”

Pastor Rich Cheek

Continued from page 5 I was forced to step out of my sheltered world where selfishness too often over-rules my daily routine. Even after viewing the events unfold on national T.V., those who are disconnected from the tragedy tend to place other priorities ahead of the need to assist others.

On a day-to-day basis, Henryville residents find soccer practice, video games, trips to Target and friendly family gatherings a barrier between them and the help they need to move on.

During the trip, myself, my co-workers and the group of students and staff who traveled to Henryville embraced and understood that barrier. An established connection was made and there was no longer a difference between the “victims” and us.

Even though our two-day adventure quickly came to a close, the citizens of Henryville and the ISU community shared an everlasting bond, revealing both our strengths and weaknesses.

Reiterating the words from Pastor Rich Cheek, “What is universal in every culture is people wanting to help other people.”

“I was forced to step out of my sheltered world where selfishness too often overrules my daily routine.”

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Sycamores Serve Henryville

Continued from page 5 unsecured items of value that remain behind in the yards where homes have been destroyed.

Even scrap metal has become a hot commodity for those desperate to sell it for the quick cash it might bring.

“We have a lot of really good people who come in and out of the area who just want to help,” Goodin said. “But unfortunately, you always have the few people who don’t have the same objective.”

Cheek said in the weeks and months to come, his goal is to continue enlisting volunteers who will commit to partnering with Henryville area families

for a minimum of two years.

“Two years,” he said. “That’s the commitment we’re looking for.”

During that time, he hopes the lives of the members of his community will be positively and permanently changed through the selfless acts of strangers who learned about the people of Henryville because of the tornado that touched down on March 2.

“What is universal in every culture is people wanting to help other people,” Cheek said. “Ninety percent of people want to help and do something, but they simply don’t know where to start.”

Despite recent tornados that destroyed more than half of the city, community members and staff of the Henryville Community Church find time to sit down and laugh, bringing joy to a time not so joyous (Photo by Jamie Nichols).

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Monday March 26, 2012 - Page 7

Sycamores Serve Henryville

ISU comes together, dedicates weekend to Henryville In my words Aaron Abel

B

irds were chirping and flowers were blooming on a beautiful sunny spring Saturday in the gently rolling hills just outside of Henryville, Ind. All seemed pleasantly normal as shiny cars full of smiling faces brushed down highway 160 away from town, the drivers nodding and waving politely as they passed me. I was walking from the donation distribution center into town, happy to feel a breeze under the budding trees on my two-mile trek.

But as I descended the hill on the outskirts of town, the scenery changed. The sun hid behind clouds, chirps gave way to chainsaws and the tall budding trees turned to splintered trunks split like broken matchsticks down the hillside. The shiny cars now donned blue tarps to keep water from leaking through their hail-shattered windshields, the faces beside them no longer smiled, and neither did mine.

I baulked at the stagnant air, stopping on a bridge to gather myself before stepping amidst the rumble of diesel-powered excavators and bulldozers working between the heaps of trash, bricks and broken glass.

I’d read the stories, I’d seen the pictures, I’d even driven through the town just hours earlier. Why then had nothing prepared me for this raw atmosphere? Why was I so unable to curb my emotions? I spotted groups of volunteers and town members droning busily in every direction, cleaning, sorting, building and destroying. I stood and wiped my cheek, remembering that I

Continued on page 9

Indiana State University volunteers stayed in covered wagons overnight in Henryville, Ind. set up by Country Lake Christian Retreat Center. Each wagon held eight bunks inside (photo by Jamie Nichols).

Aaron Abel

Assistant features editor

O

ver 30 Indiana State University members piled into vans and cars early Friday morning, ready to assist the community of Henryville in their ongoing effort to rebuild their town in the aftermath of a devastating tornado.

The volunteers, comprised of both students and staff, drove through the town before unloading their belongings into their covered-wagon homes at Country Lake Christian Retreat Center.

“I was speechless when I came into town,” said freshman criminology major Bruce Kepler. “You see this sort of thing on the news, but it’s not the same when you see it with your own eyes.”

“It’s nothing like it seems on TV,” said sophomore family and consumer sciences education major Erik Scearce. “Piles of rubble, houses leveled— imagine your own home gone. It’s different seeing devastation first-hand.”

Associate director of student activities

Freda Luers also went on the trip, driving a Others went to the warehouse distribution group of students. center where they helped unload and sort “The first thing I saw was the high school essential goods donated to the families in need. and I thought, ‘wow’,” Luers said. “There was “Our work helped support the people far more damage than the supporting, and although pictures showed.” it’s somewhat indirect, it’s “It was astonishing,” said still necessary,” said trip freshman nursing major coordinator and associate Mindy Mark. “It’s hard to dean of students Al Perone. realize that it looked so “I think we all grasped the much worse a mere week value of our assistance.” and a half ago.”

Members of the group Relief efforts have been were satisfied with the underway since the disaster impact they made and occurred on March 2, but encourage others to join in the rebuilding phase has the cause. only just begun.

“It feels great being a Bruce Kepler, freshman “It’ll be three to four part of something bigger years before some get criminology major than myself,” Mark said. their lives back on track,” “Everyone should do it. It’s said sophomore safety management major just a weekend, and the impact you’ll have for Margaret Riser. “Maybe even longer.” the two days here is more than you’ll realize.”

After a lunch at Henryville Community Perone also encourages others to take the Church, the group split ways; some went to time to help, but advises that people volunteer the retreat center where they helped prepare the center for other relief groups to come.

Continued on page 9

“I was speechless when I came into town. You see this sort of thing on the news, but it’s not the same when you see it with your own eyes.”

Page 8 - Monday March 26, 2012

Sycamores Serve Henryville

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Continued from page 7

Thank you to everyone who is helping in the Henryville relief efforts.

Along with the wagons, teepee-like structures were set up at the retreat center for volunteers to stay in over the weekend (photos by Jamie Nichols).

From, The Center for

Community Engagement

isu-cpsce@mail.indstate.edu 812.237.2334

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Monday, March 26, 2012 - Page 9

Sycamores Serve Henryville

Continued from page 7

The foundation of a Henryville church is all that remains after the tornado’s destruction (photo by Jamie Nichols). with an organization.

“Do it, but don’t just show up,” Perone said.

“Work with an agency and make plans to show up. As the recovery progresses, the need for organization in the relief effort increases, as well.”

The need for more volunteers certainly shows, as the clean-up process is still far from over.

“There’s a lot more work to do,” Mark said.

“Devastation like this can’t be cleaned up overnight.”

“It’s an ongoing effort, so if the opportunity arises then take it. Leave your agenda behind,” Luers said.

Members of the group pointed out the personal reward afforded by servicing a community, as well as the need to squelch any excuses not to.

“Do whatever it takes to get here,” Scearce said. “There will always be excuses, but it’s a rewarding experience that you don’t get very often.”

“I could have spent my weekend doing something purely benefitting myself,” Riser said. “It is for personal gratification, as well as

helping other people. To me it was worth it just to hear people say ‘thank you’.”

Volunteers also noted the feelings of gratefulness and humility they gained from the experience.

“Sometimes I take too much for granted,” Luers said. “It made me realize that some of the things I thought were really important, really aren’t. It was very humbling.”

“I’m going to be really grateful when I get home where all I have is intact,” Riser said. “I’m also going to start taking tornado warnings seriously.”

Perone and Luers were proud and impressed with the dedication and hard work provided by the ISU students who volunteered.

“I thought it was an amazing group of hardworking students,” Luers said. “We all shared that spirit of ‘we’re in this together,’ and bonded because of it.”

“For students who didn’t know each other, they worked together really well and didn’t complain,” Perone said. “Our students were very flexible and hard working. I got compliments on them everywhere.”

“Sometimes I take too much for granted. It made me realize that some of the things I thought were really important, really aren’t. It was very humbling.”

Freda Luers, associate director of student services

had my own part to play, and set out again, determined to see and feel more.

I meandered through the carnage, stepping over toys and clothing, and around heaps of rubble piled on the sidewalks.

Having seen enough, I turned back towards the group of workers and town members cutting and stacking the mess of trees lying dead on the hill. With a couple of hours, two-dozen pairs of hands and a plethora of sweat-soaked shirts the group was able to clear a portion of the hillside. I tossed a heavy slice of trunk on the pile and stepped back, wiping my brow with a gloved hand. I scanned the surrounding hillside and quickly lost the sense of accomplishment I had just felt, realizing the insignificance of the dent we had just made. It would take weeks of this effort, and even then this hill would never be the same again.

I turned my gaze to the town below, remembering comments about the progress that had already been made since the tornado sirens whined weeks before. I felt sorry for the victims who lost their homes. I felt sorry for those who couldn’t see a light that seemed so far away. But despite the lives they were forced to put on hold, they kept moving; they kept working; they kept rebuilding.

There is no doubt in my mind that Henryville will emerge a better place, a stronger place.

Perhaps the fallen trees will warm the houses; perhaps the children will receive new toys and life will be lived with a new appreciation.

Although most of us have a home with running water and a bed with clean sheets, excuses can always be made. There are always trials and tribulations, no matter how small, permeating our days. But there are always those with a greater need, and those needs must be recognized. It is easy to hide from the hardships of others, when everyone else is smiling. And it is easy to forget the powerful indifference of Mother Nature, especially when the birds are singing.

Page 10 - Monday March 26, 2012

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Sycamores Serve Henryville

Workers and volunteers gathered around their work vehicles as they came up with a plan for the rest of the day (photo by Jamie Nichols).

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Jamie Nichols

In my words

As a photographer, I was eager to go to Henryville because I knew it would be a great opportunity to get compelling photographs. My head was filled with expectations of what I would see, and I was already planning out compositions in my head. It rained the entire time on the way there, and I just kept hoping that the sky would clear up so my camera equipment wouldn’t get wet.

On the first day of the trip, I stayed to help clean the retreat center where I was staying, so I didn’t see much damage aside from a few limbs down and houses with windows boarded up.

However, the second day was much different. I was able to travel into town to see the extent of the damage, which was just a few miles away from the virtually untouched area where I had been staying. When the van came to a stop, I jumped out and quickly got my camera ready. I immediately began wandering through debris, jumping over piles of trash, and climbing over uprooted trees. I was determined to get the perfect shot.

Overcome with excitement over the photos I had just taken, I was ready to keep traveling and see what else I could find. Further into town, the damage was even worse. Houses had been completely destroyed, and those that were lucky enough to remain somewhat standing were missing walls and had tarps for makeshift roofs. Dumpsters full of debris now overtook yards that were once open areas of green grass.

I found myself standing in the yard of a tornadostricken house, excited to see such a skeletal form attempting in vain to defy the forces of nature. Again I picked up my camera and began feverishly shooting, stepping closer to the house with each shot. Before I knew it, I was standing at the window frame of a bedroom, still excited to see that devastation lied inside as well. I snapped a shot of a room stripped of its ceiling, devoid of any signs of comfort aside from the mattresses heaped in the center.

It was at this moment that I finally put my camera down to poke my head inside the window frame and see what was around the corner. Suddenly, everything felt different. Behind the lens of a camera, I was shielded from the cold reality of what was before me.

Areas of destruction were transformed into mere pixels on a screen. Without its protection, I felt incredibly overwhelmed and immediately had to leave the yard.

It was that moment; I shared the unique, yet disconnected, sorrows with the residents of Henryville.

From that point forward, my ability and freedom to take photos became an opportunity that sets me apart from the devastated community. I can move on day by day wiping clean the unwanted, whereas the citizens of Henryville will forever have that picture of mass destruction.

Sycamores Serve Henryville

Monday March 26, 2012 - Page11

Henryville through the camera

Top: One of the houses destroyed by the F4 tornanado that hit Henryville three weeks ago.

Left: The remains of the master bedroom in the damaged house.

Photos by Jamie Nichols

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Sycamores Serve Henryville

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ROAD TO RECOVERY

A

dog without a collar finds a stick amidst the debri left behind by the tornado in Henryville, Ind. Behind him lies what was once a home. Cases of water bottles were wrapped in bold text that read, “from your friends from Joplin, Missouri.” Joplin was hit with their own tornado disaster May of last year, resulting in similar aftermath. A message, “God bless,” was found written across the top of a donated canned good from Washington, Ind. Donations and volunteers have come from across the state and nation to help the Henryville community rebuild the town.

Photos by Jamie Nichols and Jessica Squires

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Sycamores Serve Henryville

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Community comes together as school is rebuilt

Jessica Squires

In my words

I

t would be an understatement to say that I was excited when I first found out that the Statesman would have the opportunity to not only travel and volunteer with a group from the Center for Community Engagement but also write about the trip as well as the community we were working with.

I immediately jumped into what seems to be my only mode when I’m excited: obsessive. I wanted to plan everything for this issue. I wanted to know how many pages we would have, what stories we would write. I wanted to plan out every pica.

I quickly learned that it was unreasonable and impossible to plan something so reliant on experience. If it’s true that you can’t fully comprehend a situation until you’ve been in the environment, then it is also true that you can’t relate that to an audience.

I was a bit of a mess for the two weeks leading up to the trip.

There were so many things I wanted to accomplish, so many things I wanted to make sure made it into the issue. I was almost angry at first that I could not simply make a plan of action.

I was quickly silenced after being in Henryville for only a few minutes. I had been stressing over this issue and my lack of preparation but here were families who didn’t know when they would get their next meal.

They didn’t know where they would sleep that night or when Continued on page 16

A large part of Henryville Junior/Senior High School and Elementary School was deemed unusable after the destruction from the tornado. Construction teams are working to rebuild the school while the students finish out the semester at a temporary location. The school is planned to be finished for next school year (Photo by Jamie Nichols).

Midway through a typical spring “The school district has three high Jessica Squires semester students recuperate from spring schools that are rivals,” Albert said. “So Editor-in-Chief break, buckle down on their studies and many hands have reached out to support ypically, the Hornets of Henryville look forward to summer. This spring each other.”

Junior/Senior High School would semester Henryville students are waiting The help even extends out of the district have turned their heads from and rebuilding. with Scottsburg High School offering to their rival high schools in Western Clark The collaboration of students and allow Henryville’s band to rehearse in their Community Schools, but this season teachers from the other schools has been band room after hours. the students from many schools are the some of the most astonishing help, junior The Henryville Junior/Senior High students of Henryville’s closest allies. and senior high school science teacher as School is a conjoined building with the In the tornado that hit the town on March well as wife to Henryville principle Troy Henryville Elementary School. In the 20102 the community’s schools were damaged Albert and mother of a senior at Henryville 11 school year Henryville schools enrolled along with many homes and businesses.

High School, Karen Albert said.

Continued on page 15

T

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Sycamores Serve Henryville

Monday March 26, 2012 - Page 15

Continued from page 15 enrolled 1,256 students and had a staff of 72 teachers.

Students in kindergarten to sixth grade went back to school March 21 to a temporary location at Graceland Baptist Church in New Albany, Ind. Students in junior high and high school will wait to go back to school until April 2 at a temporary location being built as an addition to facilities at Mid-America Science Park in Scottsburg, Ind. The teachers were allowed to view the temporary school site where construction is still in progress. Albert said many teachers have noted the smaller space but are positive that the site is the best situation for the students.

Henryville band director, Shanna Ledbeter said that she is worried about the size of the classrooms but is optimistic about getting back to school. She said the band can rehearse in the cafeteria or outside on nice days.

“I’m going into a room that all of my students won’t be able to get into,” Ledbeter said. “I’m hoping I’ll be able to teach.”

Continued on page 16

Construction workers work throughout the day to rebuild what was lost of the school in the tornado (Photo by Jamie Nichols).

If you qualify as a new donor, you can earn up to $100 this week!

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Sycamores Serve Henryville

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Continued from page 14 their life would reach a point of stability.

Hearing story after story I felt my heart growing heavier. I had been on similar trips. I had volunteered in similar situations.

But somehow between then and now I had become so estranged from the reality of service. In rounding out my last year of college and working as editorin-chief of the Statesman, I have become a bit of a workaholic.

I rarely spend more time in my apartment than sleeping and the time it takes to shower and head out for the day. I would classify myself as a busy person. But to the people of Henryville, Ind. none of that matters. They don’t need excuses. They just need help.

The stories that touched me the most came from Henryville Community Church. Pastor Rich Cheek told his story from the first night after the tornado. He said that they finally managed to get their generator working and realized that they were the only people in the town with power. The entire town was left in darkness and all of the sudden people from across the community flocked to the church because it was the only thing in town that anyone could see. It just so happened that it was one of the only places with a large supply of bottled water.

The residents of Henryville were forced to put their lives aside.

While we see the destruction and we understand the loss we rarely understand what it means to set everything we have aside and submit ourselves. We rarely allow ourselves the opportunity to really live outside of our selfmade parameters of excessive work and activity.

It shouldn’t take a tornado’s destruction to make us realize that there is more to life than what we plan.

School supplies are stocked and preserved at Henryville Community Church’s warehouse in preparation for the opening of the Junior and Senior High School’s temporary location at the Mid-America Science Park in Scottsburg, Ind. Students will be able to begin classes on April 2 (Photo by Jessica Squires).

Albert said that the school board considered that students be broken up to go to other areas to go to school but it was very important for the community for the students to stay together.

Erica Pangburn, choir director at the junior and senior high school, said that the school is a source of stability for many students. She said the efforts to reinstate that stability is driving the effort to rebuild the school. Albert agreed saying that in the small town school everyone has a sense of family.

“Students are not just a number in your class,” Albert said.

Pangburn has had to cancel the choir’s participation in competitions but still plans to have a spring concert. She said the students love to perform and she hates that their passion has been thwarted by the tornado and the inability to rehearse.

“We will find a way to do a spring concert,” Pangburn said. “I don’t know where or when it will be but we will make it happen.

Ledbeter said that all of the instruments

stored in the school’s band room including marching and percussion instruments but she is still looking forward to participating in a parade the first of May. She said that regardless of their lack of equipment she knows they will make it work. She expects that once the new school is running the band will be able to come together.

“We have had a tremendous outpouring of offers to help but nowhere to put anything,” Ledbeter said.

Continued on page 17

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Sycamores Serve Henryville

Continued from page 16 Albert said that bringing the students back together will help provide them a sense of closure.

“School isn’t going to be what it was before,” Albert said. “There will be a lot more to school than just a curriculum.”

Throughout the process of rebuilding the school and bringing students back together, Albert said she has seen the community come together.

“After the day of, the day after, the next

few days it was uplifting in disguise to see the whole town come together,” Albert said.

Henryville Junior/Senior High School Freshman and Henryville resident Jessie Sexton said that she has also seen her community come together and that the destruction has been a blessing in disguise.

“At first it was extremely heartbreaking,” Sexton said. “Now I see it as a new start.”

“We have had a tremendous outpouring of offers to help, but nowhere to put anything.”

Shanna Ledbeter, Henryville band director

Youth tennis shoes were found stuck in trees across the town of Henryville with the multitude of debris left behind from the tornado (Photo by Jamie Nichols).

Monday March 26, 2012 - Page 17

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ISU professor and emergency personnel discuss tornado science and precautions Dustyn Fatheree

Assistant news editor

A

warm late winter day in Henryville, March 2 gave way to one of Mother Nature’s most violent phenomena.

As residents of the small Indiana town went about a normal Friday afternoon, dynamics in the atmosphere cooked up a significant tornado.

“There are two main components that need to be present on top of a thunderstorm to form a tornado,” said Associate Professor of Geology and Director of the Honors Program, Greg Bierly said. “One component is atmospheric instability and the amount of spin available. Once the spin starts, it’s obvious the clouds are rotating and people should begin to seek cover.”

Instability, or the wind updraft turning from the south, needs to rotate as it travels upward into the atmosphere, Bierly said. Add instability and up shear, the increase in wind speed as it travels upward, then a tornado can form. If a tornado does form, then a visible funnel will begin to reach down from the sky.

Bierly reminisces the tornado disaster at Henryville, Ind., and the destruction it brought.

“The Henryville tornado was an EF4 out of an EF5 on the Enhanced Fujita scale,” Bierly said. “Destruction is certain from an EF4 tornado because its rotation speed is around 170 to 175 miles per hour. The strength of the wind on the exterior part of the funnel does the most damage.”

Tornados have a lot of different features and appearances, he said. Depending on the sun position and precipitation in the atmosphere, the color of a tornado can range from pink to green.

ISU Director of Public Safety Bill Mercier said that his staff practices how to get the word out to people in the case of a tornado on campus.

He said that if a tornado hits ISU, the department of Public Safety would activate the campus warning systems, like RAVE text messaging, the sirens and ISU live messaging.

Mercier said that people should get to the lower part of buildings and to stay away from windows because it can shatter and cause injury. Another hazard is buildings that have a large roof expanse that can be taken off easily

Debris scattered across the countryside in Henryville, Ind., after a tornado touched down and damaged the town (Photo by Jamie Nichols). like the Hulman Memorial Student Union or the Student Recreation Center.

There are two sirens in Vigo County and it is at ISU’s University Apartments and science building and they go off at once.

“The reason why there are a limited number of sirens is because Terre Haute has a reverse 911 system that activates phone calls to residents in the area,” Mercier said. “ISU can’t do that because the university has one phone number with extensions that branch off from there.”

He said that ISU would set off their sirens during a chemical spill, a shooter on campus and anything that has an immediate impact on campus.

“Public Safety staff are required to review the emergency plan and it may be necessary for them to go building to building and

activate the vehicle broadcast system to warn people,” Mercier said.

With tornados in the area, Terre Haute received tennis ball sized hail on March 2 due to the strong updraft, moist atmosphere and the presence of thunderstorms, Bierly said. It is produced by strong, moist wind uplift into a freezing layer in the atmosphere that produces the ice balls.

“Usually, tornado-bearing thunderstorms have hail too,” He said. “Luckily, the storm was terminated at Evansville and Terre Haute only received some leftover hail.”

Mercier recalls his 12 years of service in Public Safety at ISU and is grateful that no severe weather has impacted campus, but remembers a few close calls.

“We have had tornado warnings, but nothing has touched down,” Mercier said.

“ISU has also had floods, but it didn’t affect campus due to it being located on a higher ground level. We have also experienced a few chemical spills, but they occurred during the summer when there wasn’t many people around.”

According to the Emergency Preparedness/ Response Plan, a tornado watch is an indication of where and when the possibilities are highest that severe weather may occur. A tornado warning is when a sighting occurs; the sirens and communication systems will be activated. The National Weather Service issues all weather related warnings.

“We don’t want to desensitize ISU people to the threat of a tornado,” Mercier said. “They are obviously around and can cause damage.”

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Sycamores Serve Henryville

Monday March 26, 2012 - Page19

Illustration by Jamie Nichols

Page 20 - Monday March 26, 2012

Sycamores Serve Henryville

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Through the eyes of a child:

Six-year-old Caleb Harter lost his elementary school to tornado damages. In the meantime, he helped his mother with donations, anticipating the day he was able to return to class and see his friends.

Ella dela Pena Features editor

For most little kids, an unannounced week off from school would be a dream come true, but for six-year-old Caleb Harter, he couldn’t wait to return.

The young boy once attended Henryville Elementary School, but not much remains of the school after being heavily damaged by the tornado earlier this month.

The boy stayed home from school the day of the incident, thinking his mom kept him due to a cold he was recovering from. Caleb’s mother Debra, however, had been keeping a close eye on the news and with maternal instincts, kept her son and four-year-old daughter Chloe, home safely.

With dad away at work in Madison, Ind.—a town that was not affected by the tornado—, mother and children sought refuge in their basement for two hours.

“I wasn’t scared,” Chloe, Caleb’s little sister, said.

Older brother Caleb, however, was scared– not for himself, but for his fellow classmates.

“Mom asked me to stay home. I was fine, but I was scared about my friends.

That’s what I was really afraid of,” Caleb said.

With his kindergarten classroom ripped away, Caleb enjoyed his week off like most little boys would with activities such as shooting hoops outside and playing video games indoors.

A field trip that had been planned before the tornado hit still took place despite situations; Caleb and his classmates were welcomed to the local movie theater to enjoy a private screening of “The Lorax,” with the theater providing free admission and popcorn.

Despite the free time, however, Caleb still found himself missing his friends and school.

“Playing at recess was my favorite part,” Caleb said. “I miss my friends.”

In the meantime, Caleb went and assisted his mother in donating toys during his time off to children in need.

The toys were dropped off to his teacher

Caleb Harter and his younger sister, Chloe, have resided in Memphis, Ind. their whole lives. Memphis is less than four miles away from Henryville, Ind., where Caleb attended school (submitted photo). who then relayed the donations to those who lost their belongings in the storm.

“A couple of my friends lost their houses,” Caleb said.

This marked the first time Caleb saw the aftermath of the tornado’s damage and what remained of the elementary school he had once attended, as well as the town as a whole. He recalls seeing windows busted out of houses, with tarp covering the rooftops.

“I wish it was just a dream. I really didn’t want it to happen,” Caleb said.

On Wednesday, March 21, Caleb and the other Henryville Hornets finally returned to class at their temporary campus at Graceland Christian School in New Albany, Ind. During the Open House event, the children were given backpacks, teddy

bears and school supplies donated by outside sources.

Caleb, along with more than 600 other students, teachers and staff will be expected to finish out the school year at the new location. All four kindergarten classes have been put in a single large room, which Caleb has grown fond of.

“I think I like it better this way. I get to see all of my friends at the same time now. They served lunch in the gym. I kinda like it,” Caleb said. “I had a really, really, really really good time.”

Another break was in Caleb’s future, though, with Henryville’s spring break following the week after.

“I’m not very excited,” Caleb said about the upcoming break. “I would rather be in school.”

With the former school building and

town still in need, Caleb had a bit of advice for other kids his age wanting to help.

“You could get money out of your piggy banks,” Caleb said. “The school is accepting donations.”

“I wish it was just a dream. I really didn’t want it to happen.”

Caleb Harter, Henryville Elementary School student

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Tornado strikes close to home, ISU student volunteers time

ISU student Jordan Adams (right) accompanied the Center for Community Engagement on their first trip to Henryville to help those in need (submitted photo).

Ella dela Pena Features editor

When junior aviation major Jordan Adams heard that a tornado touched down four miles away from his hometown of Borden, Ind., his heart sank.

“I started calling everyone back home. I couldn’t get a hold of anyone, which didn’t help,” Adams said.

Fortunately for Adams, he later learned that none of his loved ones were affected by the tornado, but for many others, the damage was personal. In response, a group of Indiana State University students and faculty took a trip over spring break to volunteer their time, including Adams.

The ISU group worked with other volunteers ranging in age from as young as eight to adults in their 50’s, Adams said.

Volunteers were supplied with gloves and gear as they helped load and sort food donations. The trip, organized by the Center for Community Engagement, lasted two days.

“We stayed overnight at the Country Lake Christian Retreat Center,” Adams said, which was the same location they began setting up.

The 52-mile long route the tornado made

left overwhelming damage apparent to anyone as soon as they entered city limits.

“Oh, man. It’s torn to shreds,” Adams said.

“As soon as you pulled onto the Henryville exit, there is a sign that says, ‘open to local residents only’.”

Those driving through the town could see workers trying to clear debris alongside vendors standing on what was left of the sidewalk, offering food for those who lost everything to the tornado.

“The high school was tangled up, [and] the roof was torn off,” Adams said. “It was worse than I expected. It’s going to take awhile to get it back.”

Despite the extreme damages done to the schools, Adams acknowledges that no students were killed and gives thanks to the preparedness of faculty and staff.

“You can only be as prepared as the weatherman tells you,” Adams said. “The principles and the chairmen did their best to get those kids out safe.”

The event marks the second tornado to hit Henryville and surrounding areas within the past ten years.

“It was nice to be able to help this time.

I remember wanting to help when I was a kid, but my mom said I was too young,” Adams said. “It’s not just for the community service. It’s definitely an experience.”

Monday March 26, 2012 - Page 21

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Sycamores Serve Henryville

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ISU awarded for commitment to community service Ernest Rollins Sports editor

The Indiana State University was recognized by the Corporation for National and Community Service and the U.S. Department for the university’s community service efforts.

The award given to ISU was the 2012 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with distinction. It is given to higher education institutions every year that have shown exemplary community service. Nancy Rodgers, associate vice president for the Center for Community Engagement, said that ISU was selected amongst 640 institutions that were recognized. Rogers said only 110 other schools received the award with distinction which meant out of all the recipients for the award these 110 schools were set apart. Rogers said the Center of Community Engagement sent in the application on ISU’s behalf, but the success is a reflection on ISU students’ efforts.

“The award acknowledges the work of the entire campus,” Rogers said.

Rogers said that in 2011 they were over 6,000 students involved in some form of community service either through classes or organized co-curricular activities on campus. Rogers said that at ISU there are almost 200 courses offered by the university that has some form of community engagement component.

“Community engagement is a major commitment by ISU and its students and employees,” President Bradley said.

Rogers said the Center for Community Engagement’s main purpose is to act as a link for faculty and students to community service projects. The Center is able to do that thanks to grant funding, ongoing university support and strategic plan funding.

Rogers said individuals interested in performing community service are welcomed. There is a proposal process for grants for organizations interested in getting involved and individual students are encouraged to stop by the Center located in Tiery Hall and they would get them setup.

“We want students when they graduate from ISU to have that orientation to want to give back to their communities as they go through their adult life.”

Nancy Rogers, associate vice president for the Center of Community Engagement

G et Y ou r M es sa ge A cr os s

and

Call 812.237.4344 for more details TODAY!

The CCE is currently working on trips to Henryville, Indiana to help with the tornado clean up. Their last visit was the past weekend with another round of trips scheduled for April 13th and 14th. Freshman Brooke Truax worked with the CCE on the very first trip to Henryville. Truax said many of the volunteers upon seeing the aftermath of the tornado were even more eager to help fellow Hoosiers.

“I think it’s important for students to get involved in community service,” Truax said. “Opportunities to help people are always available and I think students should seize those opportunities whenever they can.”

Other projects Rogers said the CCE is planning include Donaghay Day April 20 and fundraising for ISU to sponsor the construction of a Habitat for Humanity Home.

Rogers said community service is an important aspect of being a good citizen and encourages all students to get involved in some way.

“We want students when they graduate from ISU to have that orientation, to want to give back to their communities as they go through their adult life,” Rogers said.

For more information about the CCE and individuals/ organizations interested in getting involved in some form of community service can contact the center at (812) 237-2334, send an e-mail to isu-cpsec@mail.indstate.edu or visit the office located in room 134A Tiery Hall.

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Indiana

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Business Classifieds One liner ad for one issue: $7.00 Business Frequency Discount Same liner ad in three or more consecutive issues: $6.00 per issue ISU Organizations *Fraternities, sororities, student organizations and departments (includes Greek notes): $5.00 per issue Deadlines For Monday Issues: 3 p.m. Thursday For Wednesday issues: 3p.m. Monday For Friday issues: 3 p.m. Wednesday Ad Classifications

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Monday March Monday, March26, 26,2012 2011 -• Page Page 1523

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Page 24 - Monday, March 26, 2012

Sycamores Serve Henryville

Henryville community forges ahead with help from volunteers

Top right: Members from Henryville Community Church served student volunteers hot meals before they ventured out in town to help with relief efforts. (Photo by Jamie Nichols).

The mood wasn’t completely sour over the weekend, as volunteers cracked smiles and enjoyed down time during their break (Photo by Jamie Nichols).

Directly above: Construction workers gut Henryville Junior Senior High School. The school was nearly destroyed during the tornado, but officials expect it to be rebuilt in time for next school year (Photo by Jamie Nichols).

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