Log Cabin Democrat - Prevailing Winds

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MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

The storm was doubly described as a tornado ... ... Log Cabin Democrat, 1957 six hours ago it was filled with death and flying terror ... Like a crawling, whirling monster, taking giant strides; crushing, blowing, spewing, laying waste to all in its path ... Log Cabin Democrat, 1965 “As bad as it is, we are lucky. We are very lucky. It could have been a lot worse with a lot of lives lost.” ... James Firestone, Vilonia Mayor, 2011 There are just some things we will not be able to save.” ... Paul Hicks, Vilonia, 2014 Rural mailcarrier Dale Ingram brought in new reports of damage from Saturday’s tornado ... Tonight the worst is over. Tomorrow the real work begins. ... Log Cabin Democrat, 1965 “What if it had happened at night?” ... Mrs. Virgil Moore, Conway, credited for saving lives by calling into a radio broadcast, describing the approaching storm, 1965 “We’re proud of the way everyone has been helping their neighbors in need.” ... Preston Scroggin, County Judge, 2011 Sheriff Andy Shock was shaken as he talked about these children at the Vilonia Primary School. ... ... Log Cabin Democrat, 2014 ,

PREVAILING WINDS

“The storm no more than hit until Jack Strain, Dave Ward and Dan Mowrer had their heavy equipment on the job clearing the streets and helping push back debris. They and their men proved of invaluable service.” .. M.M. Satterfield, Conway Mayor, 1957 Nature’s bulldozer had done its work well. ... Log Cabin Democrat, 1965 “The first thing we saw was that our home was still standing and we were thankful.” ... Valerie Goza, Vilonia, 2011 “We have been here before, and we will be OK.” ... Dr. Frank Mitchell, Vilonia Superintendent, 2014 Maybe it’s experience.

I hate that I can say that.” ... Debbie Martin, Vilonia Fire Department, 2014 “We took a lick out here. The damage is beyond description.” ...Preston Scroggin, County

“Pray for Arkansas” .. slogan, 2011 “We will soar again.”

Judge, 2011

T

he Log Cabin Democrat marks historic tornadoes that defined Faulkner County and the people who share generational stories of disaster, recovery and hope.

This is our tribute to those defining moments.

... slogan, 2014

1965, 1957, 2011, 2014

2C — Monday, April 27, 2015

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Prevailing Winds

Stories Beyond the Storms On April 10, Conway marked the 50th anniversary of a tornado that destroyed much of the small, growing city. Things were quieter then. The interstate had yet to change the landscape here. But the tornado that swept through in the early evening hours on that Saturday certainly did.

There were other monumental, terrifying and tragic moments throughout the next 50 years in Faulkner County, possibly the most significant was the tornado that happened on this day, April 27, just one year ago.

These storms have quite a lot in common, including the bond of community and the will to put back in place what was lost in the storm — the will to move forward and to hope.

Throughout this edition, the Log Cabin will walk with our readers through the past, marking time and significant history of this county and the people in it.

We will tell the stories we have told before, and we will attempt to piece together a past that proves the resilience and resolve of towns and communities throughout Faulkner County. The Log Cabin could in no way tell every story, but we are presenting this as a tribute to honor those who have shared with us some of the most amazing acts of kindness, support, hard work and compassion in the wake of some of the most tragic events in our history.

For the past 136 years, the Log Cabin has been proud to be a part of this story — your story.

— Log Cabin Democrat staff

Faulkner County no stranger to tornadoes

By JIMMY BRYANT SPECIAL TO THE LOG CABIN

(Editor’s note: This article was originally published May 3, 2014)

The State of Arkansas is no stranger to tornadoes. Since 1950 to present day there have been 1714 recorded tornadoes in Arkansas which averages out to 23 tornadoes per county.

Faulkner County has had 53 tornadoes, and only two counties have had more, Pulaski County and Lonoke County. Pulaski County has had 86, Lonoke County — 74, Saline County — 48, White County — 37, Conway County — 36, Van Buren County –— 34 and Cleburne County — 28. Faulkner County ranks third in the state for the number of tornadoes since 1950. The counties with the fewest number of tornadoes are Scott County — 7, Lafayette County — 8, Cleveland, Lee and Newton Counties — all with 11 each.

The most recent tornado of April 27 is only the second time since 1950 that Faulkner County has had a tornado that registered on the Fujita scale as an F4 or on the Enhanced Fujita scale as an EF4. The differences between the two scales will be explained later in this article. This article looks at tornado activity in Faulkner County from 1950 to present. Much of the statistical information contained in this article came from the Tornado History Project (tornadohistoryproject.com) which received its information from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center.

Not all tornadoes are the same. They vary in wind speed, width, distance or length of time on the ground, and the severity of damage left in their wake. In order to rank the intensity of tornadoes a rating system was created in the early 1970s.

STRANGER < 4C

This image was provided by reader Raymond Henze.

His childhood home on South German Lane was destroyed during the 1965 tornado.

Monday, April 27, 2015 — 3C

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Prevailing Winds

In addition to first responders, power companies, construction companies and even oil companies bring in heavy equipment the morning after a major storm. These images, collected by the Log Cabin after three different tornadoes proves that there are some things a community can always count on. From top left, clockwise, 1965, 2011, 2014.

After the Storm ...

Father’s legacy lives on with disaster warning system

By BOB BARHAM SPECIAL TO THE LOG CABIN

On April 10, 1965, the City of Conway experienced a day that will forever be remembered, as a tornado touched down causing devastating property damage and loss of life. The majority of the damage from the path of this horrific tornado focused on the eastern and northern areas of the city. The aftermath left the citizens of Conway stunned as many lost their homes, and some paid the ultimate price with the loss of life. I was almost six years old in 1965, but I remember too well watching this tornado from our backyard as it moved across the east side of town, picking up debris as it roared, much like the sound of a train passing through town.

As the years went by and technology improved, many cities researched the need for some type of emergency system that would have the capability of forewarning its citizens of an approaching tornado, a possible nuclear attack, or some other type of disaster such as a train derailment with chemical spill where immediate evacuation is needed.

Sometime around 1978, my father, the late Robert O. “Bob” Barham began his quest for researching the need for a Disaster Warning System for the city of Conway, Arkansas.

At that time my dad had been employed with the State of Arkansas, Office of Emergency Services for 15 years. The OES was formerly known in the 1960s and early 70s as Civil Defense, and had been located near the corner of College Avenue and Western Avenue on the southeast side across from where Conway Regional Medical Center is now located. The Civil Defense location would later be moved to south Donaghey Avenue on the hill near Richland Hills subdivision. Several years later the Civil Defense name would be changed to Office of Emergen-

‘When I was younger, I would occasionally go up to my dad’s office with him and spend the day trying to comprehend exactly what he did for a living.’

—

cy Services (OES).

Growing up in Conway, I think I sometimes took for granted that nothing could ever deBob Barham stroy this fine city, and that all of the existing homes and new construction would always be there.

When I was younger, I would occasionally go up to my dad’s office with him and spend the day trying to comprehend exactly what he did for a living. It was interesting to me and I understood that his job title was a Nuclear Planning Specialist, but I didn’t exactly understand how that correlated with tornadoes. I remember that every time there was bad weather and the possible threat of tornadoes, my dad was always subject to being called out to respond. As I got older I finally understood that his job encompassed emergency/crisis management, and there was obviously several things that were encompassed in that.

The one thing that I did understand was that my father was passionate about what he did.

He believed in being prepared for any type of disaster. He lived it at home and when he went to work each day. For two years as the volunteer Chairman for the committee, my father consistently researched the need for a Disaster Warning System for the City of Conway. He contacted several mayors in different cities throughout the state of Arkansas to see if that city already had a system or had considered implementing such a system. He also contacted several manufacturers who actually built these types of systems so that he could get an idea of how they work, as well as the total cost of purchasing the system to include installation.

Finally after many tireless hours of research, my father and several members of the Newcomers Club of Conway, (a fellowship group for women who have lived in Conway for less than 3 years), along with several private organizations agreed to help solicit donations to fund this necessary project.

The late Terri Hollender, who was president of the Newcomers Club at the time, obtained information from Mr. Sherl Blake, (Faulkner County Emergency Services co-coordinator) that the city of Conway had the money for the system but hadn’t done anything with it and was about to lose it. Ms. Hollender added that “the Newcomers Club decided to help by organizing a petition drive to show residents support for the system.” It is my understanding that the Federal Government

SYSTEM < 4C

4C — Monday, April 27, 2015

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Prevailing Winds

This Log Cabin Democrat photo shows part of the path the 1965 Conway tornado took, wiping out a warehouse at the Federal Compress on Highway 65, where much of Virco Manufacturing Company’s stock was stored.

STRANGER from 2C

Many people are familiar with the Fujita scale that was created by Dr. Tetsuya Theodore Fujita of the University of Chicago, and Allen Pearson of the National Severe Storms Forecast Center, (now the Storm Prediction Center). The Fujita scale rates the intensity of a tornado and goes from the mildest tornado, an F0, to the most intense, an F5. Even though it was 1971 when the Fujita scale was developed an effort was made to go back in history and examine the damage created by tornadoes that occurred prior to 1971, and give them a Fujita scale rating.

The Fujita scale used the following wind speeds (in miles per hour – mph) to rate tornadoes; a tornado that is an F0 has a minimum speed of 40 mph to a maximum 73 mph; an F1 tornado is 74 to 112 mph; an F2 is 113 to 157 mph; an F3 is 158 to 206 mph; an F4 is 207 to 260 mph; and an F5 is 261 to 318 mph. However, scientists felt the Fujita scale needed some adjustment and thought that its wind speed rating was too high. To remedy this situation the Fujita scale was modified and the Enhanced Fujita scale was created. The Enhanced Fujita scale is used to measure the intensity of tornadoes that occurred after February 1, 2007.

The Enhanced Fujita scale takes many factors into account when it is used to estimate the strength of a tornado. According to NOAA National Weather Service, the criteria used to determine the intensity of a tornado includes damage done to hardwood and softwood trees and 26 types of manmade structures. According to the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Norman, Oklahoma, “The Enhanced Fujita Scale or EF Scale, which became operational on February 1, 2007, is used to assign a tornado a ‘rating’ based on estimated wind speeds and related damage. When tornado-related damage is surveyed, it is compared to a list of Damage Indicators (DIs) and Degrees of Damage (DoD) which help estimate better the range of wind speeds the tornado likely produced. From that, a rating (from EF0 to EF5) is assigned.”

“The EF Scale was revised from the original Fujita Scale to reflect better examinations of tornado damage surveys so as to align wind speeds more closely with associated storm damage. The new scale has to do with how most structures are designed.” The Enhanced Fujita scale is as follows: an EF0 has winds from 65 to 85 mph; an EF1 tornado has winds from 86 to 110 mph; an EF2 has winds from 111 to 135 mph; an EF3 has winds from 136 to 165 mph; an EF4 has winds from 166 to 200 mph, and an EF5 has winds over 200 mph.

Scientists believe that the Enhanced Fujita scale is a more dependable method of estimating a tornadoes’ intensity due to the number of factors it takes into consideration. Interestingly, the damage done by tornadoes with the various EF ratings corresponds very well with the damage done by tornadoes that were rated on the old Fujita scale with the same number.

Of the 53 known tornadoes to have touched down in Faulkner County since 1950, four were in the weakest category, F0 and EF0. None of those weak tornadoes caused any deaths or injuries and no significant damage. The widest of those tornadoes was 250 yards wide and the longest path on the ground was four miles.

Faulkner County has experienced 18 tornadoes that fall into the F1 and EF1 category. There were no deaths caused by F1 and EF1 tornadoes, but three people were injured by an F1 tornado on May 5, 1961. That F1 tornado was 833 yards in width, almost one-half mile. The longest path of an F1 or EF1 tornado in Faulkner County was 16 miles long and occurred on January 21, 1999 near Naylor, and injured seven people. The seven injured were treated for minor injuries at Conway Regional Medical Center and then released. Other parts of Arkansas were not as fortunate as Faulkner County and six people died from tornadoes that occurred on January 21, 1999.

The difference in damage, injuries and death, increases significantly when a tornado becomes an F2 or EF2 level tornado, as evidenced by the following statistics.

Faulkner County has had 18 F2 or EF2 tornadoes. A total of 65 people were injured

by F2 or EF2 tornadoes in Faulkner County with the most injuries occurring in the EF2 tornado that struck Vilonia on April 25, 2011.

The 2011 Vilonia tornado injured 16 people and also claimed five lives. Initially four people were reported to have been killed, but according to the Log Cabin Democrat, Faulkner County Coroner Patrick Moore said a fifth death was related to the tornado. Four days after the storm the American Red Cross of Greater Arkansas said that 87 homes in the Vilonia area were destroyed and 146 other homes suffered severe damage and were unlivable.

The 2011 tornado has the distinction of being the widest tornado to ever hit Faulkner County and is the widest tornado in the history of the State of Arkansas.

According to the records of the NOAA Storm Prediction Center it was 2,900 yards

SYSTEM from 3C had agreed to match one half of the cost of the system. In 1980 the total cost of the eight siren/three-tone system was about $60,000.

At that time, the late Mayor Bill Wright stated in an article from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette: “The public will need to be aware of how the tones sound and what they mean.” Mr. Barham designed yellow stickers and placards which explained the three different tone sounds. The stickers and placards would eventually be provided via mail to the citizens of Conway, as well as schools and other institutions throughout the city. I believe that perhaps some individuals may need to be refreshed on the meaning of the 3 tone system so that they might better understand what each tone means. The yellow sticker/placard my father designed clarifies the meaning of each tone.

After the money was raised for the warning system, my father was elated. I

in width, or 1.65 miles wide, it was on the ground for 68.1 miles and did $53,405,000 in damage. The widest tornado in U.S. history was 2.6 miles wide and struck near El Reno, Oklahoma on May 31, 2013.

Another F2 tornado that hit Faulkner County was on April 7, 1980. It was 1,320 yards in width or about three-fourths of one mile wide, and was on the ground for 37.5 miles. There were no deaths reported with that particular tornado, but 15 people were injured, some seriously, and 37 homes suffered damage.

Faulkner County has had 11 tornadoes that fall into the F3 or EF3 category.

Those tornadoes had a cumulative death toll of 8 people and 145 were injured. The most recent EF3 tornado occurred on May 4, 2003. That particular tornado was 500 yards wide and was on the ground for 34.9 miles.

There have been two tornadoes in Faulkner County that were rated F4 or EF4 since 1950.

The first tornado of that strength took place on April 10, 1965, and it cut a swath through Conway 200 yards wide and was on the ground for 4.7 miles. It touched down south of Favre Lane and just north of Stanley Russ Road, west of South German Lane and east of South Donaghey Avenue. It traveled in a northeasterly direction and its path ended just east of East German Lane and north of Rumker Road. It was the deadliest tornado in Faulkner County history until the most recent tornado of April 27.

The 1965 tornado struck at 6:25 p.m. on a Saturday and destroyed 75 homes and damaged as many as 200. It was estimated that approximately 250 people were homeless. At least 200 people were injured and six were killed. According to the Log Cabin Democrat, “The storm formed and swooped down near the southern city limits on Highway 65, then veered northeast toward the Municipal Airport and ripped a trail of destruction as far as the Arkansas Children’s Colony. The hardest hit residential areas were along and on either side of Ingram street from Sixth street to Highway 64 and the Brown Addition on the north side of Highway 64…About 300 colony children were taken to the gymnasiums at Arkansas State Teachers College and Hendrix College, where they were treated, calmed and put to bed.”

Conway resident Jim Schneider, a reporter for the Log Cabin Democrat at the time, took refuge under a bed in his apartment just as the tornado hit. Schneider stated, “Everyone wants to know what the tornado sounded like. Stand between two freight trains the next time they pass through Conway, then multiply that sound several times and you’ve got it.”

Schneider continued, “The sights are unforgettable, nightmarish. Whole houses mutilated like an egg crushing in your hand; automobiles hurled into the air like 10-cent toys thrown by an angry child, and huge trees ripped from the earth like a blade of grass pulled from around a flower. And afterwards, nothing but destruction where moments earlier there were houses where happy families lived – streets littered with debris when less than an hour before they were occupied by playing, skate-boarding children.”

Even though the 1965 tornado left its victims with indelible memories of that horrible evening, the tornado that recently devastated Mayflower and Vilonia took almost twice as many lives. The tornado of April 27 claimed 11 lives and injured more than 100. Three days after it struck officials with the National Weather Service gave it a rating of EF4. The information about the most recent severe tornado and its impact on families and communities has been well covered by the reporters of the Log Cabin Democrat.

The following is a quote from a Log Cabin Democrat reporter after the traumatic F4 tornado of April 10, 1965, “Those who are sleeping in their homes surely had given thanks for their deliverance. Those who have no homes surely had given thanks for their lives. And those who lost their lives became a symbol of heartbreak and tragedy for everyone.” In total there have been 30 people killed and over 500 injured by tornadoes in Faulkner County since 1950. Faulkner County has not had an F5 of EF5 tornado.

Sources for this article include: the Log Cabin Democrat, National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center, Tornado History Project – tornadohistoryproject.com accessed on April 28, 29, 30, May 1, May 2, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Severe Storms Laboratory (https:// www.nssl.noaa.gov/) accessed on April 29, April 30, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climatic Data Center (http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/) accessed on April 30, May 1 and May 2, and the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Norman Oklahoma (http://www.srh. noaa.gov/oun/) accessed on May 1.

remember him saying that he couldn’t have done it without the involvement of the Newcomers Club and other individuals who recognized the importance of this system. We must never overlook the possibility of the many lives that could be saved with this system by being forewarned of imminent danger such as a tornado.

My dad always indicated that this was a team effort. I was proud of him back then and I am still proud of him today. He never wanted to take credit for it all. He just cared. He believed. He labored. He achieved. Even though my father lived to know that the efforts of those involved were not in vain and that finally the city of Conway would have a Disaster Warning System that could potentially save lives, he unfortunately would not live to see the system installed and tested. Robert O. Barham died of a massive heart attack on July 1, 1980 at the age of 53.

Every Wednesday when the sirens are tested, the tribute to my father lives on. I think about him and his efforts with every tone of the sirens.

Monday, April 27, 2015 — 5C

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Prevailing Winds

Remembering 1965 The Log Cabin Democrat in 2015 has collected personal accounts of the Conway tornado that marks 50 years.

The front page of the April 12, 1965, Log Cabin Democrat assesses the loss and destruction following the Saturday, April 10, tornado.

A CHILD’S VIEW: TORNADO ‘LOOKS LIKE

AN ICE CREAM CONE’ ...

By RACHEL PARKER DICKERSON LOG CABIN STAFF WRITER

1965

Bart Castleberry remembers vividly the day in 1965 when, at the age of 7, he saw the tornado that caused so much damage in Conway.

He recalls it was a warm day, and all the children in town had been at the free show at the Conway Theater. He and his older sister, Sheri, had joined the other children in watching “Puss in Boots.”

Later in the day it became cloudy, Castleberry said, and when his mother, Jody, came home, she looked at the sky and told the children a storm was coming. She took them to the Faulkner County Courthouse, where soon other people began to pack in.

“The Civil Defense opened the basement,” he said. “They were talking on the two-way radio. They told us to get under the tables. The lights went out, and people started hollering and screaming. Then the lights came back on.”

The storm had passed over the area, and as the family exited the building, Castleberry said his mother pointed east toward the Conway Human Development Center.

CHILD < 6C

6C — Monday, April 27, 2015

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Prevailing Winds

Remembering 1965 ‘Come on, we’ve got to get out of here’

This submitted photo by reader Kathy Flynt James shows a storm shelter at the former Clements Motel on Harkrider.

The shelter was life-saving for her parents and siblings during the storm.

By BETTY J. OSBORN Special to the Log Cabin

On the afternoon of April 10, 1965, I was 21 years old and visiting my mother in the Victory Courts in the location of what is now Price Cutter grocery.

We didn't have the TV on and was completely unaware of severe weather. I had just returned from walking to the neighborhood grocery store across the street and heard thunder but just thought it was going to rain. Suddenly, my dad, who drove for the local taxi cab company, burst through the back door with eyes as big as saucers and blurted, “Don't you know there are tornado warnings for Conway?”

“Come on, we've got to get out of here!”

As soon as we walked outside, I could see the funnel coming. In our state of confusion, we left my new car sitting there in the parking lot and sped in the taxi toward downtown. From the back seat I watched the spinning monster which looked as if it was heading straight toward us.

OSBORN < 7C

‘...The men had to hold the door shut with all their strength ...’

By KATHY FLYNT JAMES Special to the Log Cabin

My parents, two sisters and brother were there that day fishing on Lake Conway when the weather turned bad. They lived in Sheridan, Ark., so they were staying at the old Clements Motel on Harkrider.

Thankfully, there was a tornado shelter on site.

They barely made it in the shelter before the tornado hit. My mom said the men had to hold the door shut with all their strength and she thought her ear drums were going to burst before the tornado tore its way past them. The motel suffered a lot of damage and my mother's brand new Pontiac Grand Prix was totaled.

My mother said their clothes were wrapped around the shrubs outside the motel so tightly she couldn't get them out. All their personal items were strewn around the room and around the motel site, yet the Bible that was on the bedside table in their room remained untouched.

My parents and siblings had to hitchhike back to Sheridan and my mother said they had to step over live power lines. Finally, a man stopped to pick them up and when he asked where they were going and they told him Sheridan, he told them he had some relatives there — the Chandler family.

My mother's grandmother was a Chandler and this man was a cousin of hers. They had never met before. After he found out they were related, he carried my family all the way to Sheridan.

‘I was amazed, as I had never seen anything like that’

By JUDY CORCORAN

Special to the Log Cabin

I was in the hospital on April 10,1965, a Saturday, and at about 6 p.m., the sky out of my window began to look eerily green/ gray, and the atmosphere became very still.

It began to storm with terrible winds.

Soon staff began scurrying about, and the hospital’s lights went out. Rumors spread that a tornado had hit Conway, and injured many.

My husband didn't come to visit me until very late because he had watched the storm go over the town and out toward where his parents lived. He decided to follow it, then drive around to see if he could help in any way. The next day I was released from the hospital, and he drove me through the devastation on the east side of town.

I was amazed as I had never seen anything like that.

The new Civil Defense Headquarters that the state was building underground on a hill south of town down Donaghey Avenue was almost finished at this time. It was to be state of the art with up to date communications and a fallout shelter rat-

JAMES < 7C Read more personal accounts on page 9C.

CORCORAN < 7C

‘...it just missed that corner of the factory’

By MARGIE FULMER Special to the Log Cabin

On April 10, 2015, Ray Fulmer was in the midst of his workday at the International Shoe Company, where he had been employed since 1948. His wife, Margie Fulmer, recounted the details Ray shared after returning home at the end of his day.

“He came in from work and told me there had been a tornado, so we went into Conway,” she said.

As the storm had approached, he recalled, a group of the workers gathered in one of the factory’s restrooms, not knowing what the next few minutes would bring.

“They were in one of the restrooms on the south side,” she said. “It just missed that corner of the factory, and went on to hit a house.”

Margie said there were about 100 people working at the factory the day the tornado struck. She would go on to work at the factory herself, and she and Ray would remain employed there until the International Shoe Company’s closing in 1977.

Two automobiles are nearly buried under rubbish of Joe W. Eaton’s home at 430 Angus Street.

Log Cabin photo

CHILD from 5C “She said, ‘Can you see it? It’s that thing that looks like an ice cream cone.’

I remember seeing it as it was leaving Conway.”

Castleberry said his grandparents lived in the area that was hit, and some of their neighbors were among the fatalities that night. His grandparents’ home stood through the storm, but not

without sustaining some damage.

“The next day we got in there. I’ll never forget how much damage there was — big sheets of metal up in trees.

Trees were just trunks.”

He added not long after the tornado, a storm bringing high winds and hail came through Conway, causing even more damage.

As Conway’s former fire chief of more than 20 years, Castleberry has been to

many storm-damaged areas since that first one when he was seven years old.

He has the following advice for people living in areas prone to tornado activity: “Be prepared to help yourself and your neighbors once a storm has struck.

If it’s of any magnitude, help could be a long time coming.

“There will be trees across the roads, power lines across the roads, nails in

the roads. While Conway has tremendous fire and EMS, their resources will be quickly overwhelmed. It’s important for people to rely on themselves and their neighbors.”

(Staff writer Rachel Parker Dickerson can be reached by email at rachel.dickerson@thecabin. net or by phone at 505-1236. To comment on this and other stories in the Log Cabin, log on to www. thecabin.net. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)

Monday, April 27, 2015 — 7C

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Prevailing Winds

Remembering conway’s f4 tornado (Editor’s note: This article was originally published April 10, 2011. Ironically, it was published just 15 days before the devastating 2011 tornado that killed six on April 25, 2011, in Vilonia.)

By BECKY HARRIS Log Cabin Staff Writer

The F4 tornado that hit Conway late on Saturday afternoon, April 10, 1965, is still vivid in the memories of many.

Six people were killed, 75 homes were destroyed, 200 people were injured, some severely. The damage to homes, businesses and industries was estimated at $25 million (about $171 million in today’s dollars).

There was an outpouring of aid from around the state. The American Red Cross sent in a team that stayed for weeks. The Salvation Army helped the hurt and homeless try to recover their lives.

The county was declared a disaster area and assistance was offered by Gov. Orval Faubus, Sen. John McClellan and Marlin Hawkins, the longtime sheriff of Conway County.

On the anniversary of the storm, the Log Cabin takes a look back at the stories of those who survived as well as a look ahead at how people can prepare for the next storm season. Residents of Lollie were the first to see the funnel on that Saturday afternoon in 1965. They watched it scoop up water from the river as it crossed from west to east into Faulkner County.

Two houses and a barn were destroyed in Lollie. When the storm hit Round Mountain, it changed to a northeasterly direction, and along the way it ruined acres of pine trees and blew down two churches and three houses on Nutter’s Chapel Road.

At 6:26 p.m., the tornado had come to town. It was 200 yards wide and traveled almost 5 miles.

Witnesses

Bill Johnson, now a retired banker, was part owner and general manager of KCON, the town’s radio station. He recalled that day.

“Verna Gene Moore, an avid listener, lived on Hartje Lane. She looked out her back door and saw the tornado moving across from the southwest. When it hit the Sun-Oil gasoline tank farm by (Ward Body Works), she called the radio station,” Johnson said.

Jimmy Fiddler was the DJ on the air.

“It took a little doing – technology was not what it is now – but Jimmy patched her in and she described the tornado. It was minutes away from Ingram Street,” Johnson said.

THE VELTES

Gale Velte was overhauling his AMC Rambler behind his motherin-law’s home on Ingram Street.

He had just tightened the last screw when he looked up and saw the funnel cloud over Virco Manufacturing.

Margaret Velte remembered: “We got in the Rambler and drove away fast. Gale shouted, ‘Look behind us! Where is it?’ The storm was practically pulling on our tailpipe.

“I had my eyes closed and my fingers in my ears. I didn’t want to see anything.

OSBORN from 6C We went to a friend's storm cellar on Prince Street and stayed until the storm passed. We began to try to find out about family members.

My husband was working at a shop on Skyline Drive and watched the tornado as it passed by the Children's Colony. His parents lived on Third Avenue which was east of

At left, an original 1965 Log Cabin photo shows an unidentified woman cuddling an injured child on Polk Street immediately following the Saturday tornado. Below, debris is strewn along South German Lane.

“By the time we were a little ways down the street, it hit our trailer house and blew it away. Nothing was left but the floor,” Margaret Velte said.

“We started to stop at Grandmother’s to pick her up, but you know how she is, she wanted to go around the house, turning things off, pulling plugs … . We told her we couldn’t wait.”

Margaret’s grandmother, Mrs. John Courtney; a maiden aunt, Irene Courtney; and Margaret’s cousin, Donald Nixon, were at the family homestead. Just before the tornado hit, Nixon rushed them all out to the back of the house and put them under an old couch.

“The house was blown away, but they crawled out from under that old couch without a scratch,” Margaret said.

“If we had waited for Grandmother another five minutes, we’d all be gone. It was some fast thinking on cousin Donnie’s part.

He was a hero.”

The Velte’s two children and her mother were at a beauty parlor downtown.

“We went to check on them, and when we got downtown, it was bedlam. People were driving every which way, even driving on the sidewalks. Everybody was hunting for their folks.

“Mother’s house wasn’t destroyed and it stood for years until the airplane got it.”

(In 1990, one man was killed and three others injured when a twin-engine Beech Baron crashed into the house on Bruce Street near the west end of the east-west runway at Cantrell Field. The copilot was killed. Three passengers survived but one died later from his injuries. No one on the ground was injured.)

the airport.

My sister and her husband were moving that day from Ingram Street(where the tornado hit) which runs beside the airport.

We didn't know whether they were there or at their new apartment.

Night fell soon after the tornado hit. Sirens were screaming, everyone was trying to get to their homes or families, and of course, everything

had been blocked off in the disaster area. It was a very frightening time.

After several hours, my husband found us and told us he and his parents were alright.

He had walked into the area because only emergency vehicles were allowed in. Finally, we discovered my sister and her husband safe at their new place.

For many years after, I had dreams about tor-

JIM SCHNEIDER

Jim Schneider was a Log Cabin Democrat reporter, watching the skies that day. He rented an apartment at 574 Ingram from Nettie Thessing, age 55.

There had been a severe thunderstorm at 6 p.m., but skies had cleared, and Schneider was hoping he could get out to ASTC (now UCA) to cover a track meet.

He remembered.

“About 6:22, I heard the phone ring in my landlady’s part of the house. She had the door open and I heard her say ‘Floy, don’t tell me things like that.’

“I asked her what that was about, and she said Floy Hess called to say she had heard on KCON that a tornado was on the ground headed toward Conway.

“I walked through her kitchen,

CORCORAN from 6C ing. If needed in a nuclear emergency it could serve as the state government facility.

I worked at the headquarters that was then located at College and Western, the old Conway hospital building. We, the staff, had not yet moved into the new building on the hill. We soon learned that the tornado had first hit the building before it found its way into Con-

JAMES from 6C I was not born yet and one of my sisters was born in late 1963, so she had to stay at home with

looked out the window and said: ‘Nettie, it’s not coming to Conway; it’s here.’ ” “I could see debris in the air about four blocks away. I couldn’t see the funnel because of the trees.

“I told Nettie that we needed to lie down on the floor by something heavy. She ran toward her bedroom, I went back to my part of the house. I had been playing my guitar, and it was strapped on me. I lay down on the floor right next to my bed, and almost immediately the storm hit.

“I was sucked out of the house and blown about 50 feet from the backdoor. I was on the ground, completely unhurt. My guitar was gone.

65TORNADO < 8C

way to hit south of town, then cross Harkrider and do its damage to homes and businesses east of Harkrider and then across Oak Street.

I say it hit the building, but the only thing above ground was a walkway with a railing leading down into it. The storm had slung a lot of mud on the railing that it had picked up from the Arkansas River, and that was it.

The storm hit the Conway Human Development Center (then the Children’s Colony) and scooped up some of its insulation.

As it crossed Skyline Drive it dumped that insulation on the Clarence Day property, just to the left going north, past the crest of the hill. It is said that for many years Mr. Day couldn’t let his cattle graze on that field because of the insulation.

our grandmother.

One of my sisters that was with my parents in Conway that day was three years old. I can't imagine how my parents

felt to see all their belongings and their vehicle gone, especially having young children and being an hour or more away from home.

8C — Monday, April 27, 2015

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Prevailing Winds

Log Cabin Democrat

1965 COVERAGE

These images were photographed from original, and often brittle copies of the Log Cabin. The 1965 bound edition of the Cabin is missing. It is a newsroom mystery.

65TORNADO from 7C “As soon as I regained my senses, I knew I had to find Nettie. I ran around yelling for her.

“I heard her muffled voice: ‘I’m here! I’m here!’”

Schneider said Nettie had wedged herself under her bed. Her house – a substantial home – was destroyed, and Nettie was underneath heavy debris.

“I called for help. Roy Brown and Joe Stiefvater came. The three of us were able to move enough debris and lift a wall. Joe crawled under the debris and dragged Nettie out.

She had minor injuries.

“After she was out, my first thought was: I’ve got to go to work. My second thought was: I can’t leave Nettie. So I stayed until

some of Nettie’s friends came to stay with her,” Schneider said.

By the time Schneider got to the newspaper office, people had begun to gather. Managing editor Joe McGee began planning how the newspaper would cover the storm.

The next paper was not until Monday afternoon, so they had from 6:30 Saturday until noon Monday.

“Joe decided I would write the lead story. Bill Ward was already photographing. Frank Robins, editor and publisher, also wrote some of the stories.

“The plan was to mobilize as many people as we could from the newspaper and Conway Printing to be available right after church on Sunday. People were assigned streets to cover, and we walked the streets and tried to talk

to every person who was rummaging around in the remains of their home.

“Our goal was to get a complete list of all the houses and quantify as destroyed, heavy damage, minor damage, and identify who lived there.“There must have been 30-40 of us gathering information.

“We worked all day and all night Sunday until noon Monday.

“We put out a section with pretty comprehensive coverage,” Schneider said. (The newspaper received national awards for its coverage of the storm’s aftermath.)

The newspaper reported that more than 300 people had taken refuge in the Faulkner County Courthouse and the Civil Defense Director, C.B. Crow, said that it was a

quiet, concerned crowd, sitting in darkness for an hour before power was restored.

About 300 residents of the Arkansas Children’s Colony were taken to Grove Gymnasium at Hendrix College and the “old gym” at Arkansas State Teachers College where they were fed, calmed and put to bed.

Bill Johnson said the tornado had lifted before it reached the Children’s Colony, and did not hit the Colony head on.

“That was one of the miracles that day,” Johnson said.

KIM BEARD

Kim Beard was just 7 years old in 1965, but she remembers the storm well.

Her grandparents (Alta and A.P. Sowell)

had a farm on Highway 64 at the bottom of Squirrel Hill. It had a large storm shelter, concretelined with benches all around the inside walls.

“It seemed to me like we went to the shelter almost every time it rained.

Grandmother could look at a cloud and just know if it was rain or hail or worse,” Kim said.

As the big funnel cloud approached that afternoon, cars were stopping on the side of the road (Highway 64) and people were getting out of their cars and running toward the Sowell’s shelter.

“People we didn’t even know were coming into the shelter. The men would open the heavy, heavy doors and let everybody in. We were packed in like sardines.

“Grandmother was

the last to come in. She was rushing around her house, unplugging things.

It was dark in the shelter because she was the only one allowed to light the coal oil lamp,” Kim Beard said.

The men stood outside, watching the storm.

“There were lots of other kids in the shelter, but my Daddy (Bud Beard) gestured for me to come out. He picked me up, put me on his hip and said: ‘I want you to see this. You’ll never see anything like this again.’

“He was right,” Kim said.

She saw the tornado strike the fuel tank farm at SunOil and turn into a funnel of flame.

The Sowell farm was sold years ago and the storm shelter was filled in.

Monday, April 27, 2015 — 9C

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Prevailing Winds

Remembering 1965 ‘Just wait a few seconds’

By FRANK RIVERS Special to the Log Cabin

April 10, 2015, the 50th anniversary of the 1965 Conway tornado, brings back many memories of Conway back then. There was no interstate, no Wal-Mart, no McDonalds, etc.

What a great place — everyone knew everyone.

Elvis stayed at the Town House Motel, and there were dances at Miller’s Swim Club, the Legion Hut and the National Guard Armory.

Jerry Lee Lewis played for a dance at the Arkansas State Teachers College Student Center. Bobby Zyner was ASTC’s quarterback, and Frank Rivers was crowned Dance King at Miller’s Swim Club; the Shamrocks was the band playing that night.

The day of the tornado, I was visiting my best friend, Fred Nahlen, at 512 4th Street that afternoon. This was the center of the path of the tornado. We were in the back room of the house polishing our shoes and ironing our shirts to attend a dance at ASTC, when Fred’s dad Spats called us to come outside.

When we came into the front yard, his dad told us, “Look boys, that is a tornado cloud.”

I said, “I don’t see a hook!”

“Just wait a few seconds,” he said.

Sure enough, down dropped a tornado hook (the tail). We watched in amazement when it hit Sun Pipeline — it crushed the fuel tanks, sending up a giant flame. Then the flame went out. This happened one after one, then it crossed highway 65 near the drive-in theater and headed north toward the airport, ripping the planes from their tie-downs. As it crossed 6th Street it lifted a house 30 feet or more into the air, then exploded it.

As the storm came within a block of our house, debris, boards, parts of houses, cars,

RIVERS < 10C

An original Log Cabin photo shows destruction at Polk Street at bottom of photo and Monroe Street, looking south.

‘God was good to us, because we did not have a scratch’

By RAYMOND HENZE Special to the Log Cabin

The Conway tornado of 1965 started southwest of Conway near the old Arkansas State Civil Defense on South Donaghey St. We saw it about one mile from our house on South German Lane. We traveled about a quarter of a mile toward of the storm to get into our uncle’s storm cellar.

We only stayed there about five minutes and it was over. The cellar door sucked open and we watch the destruction of Herman and Florence Favre’s home and barns.

Katie Caroline and Lee Favre’s home across the road was damaged.

We looked toward our house, and there was nothing — just rocks and piers of the foundation. We were told that our house was taken into the air and exploded and spread as far north as Pickles Gap. Some of our pictures were returned from up to 10 miles away.

Our dad, Frank Henze, worked in town at

HENZE < 10C At left, a photo provided by Raymond Henze shows animals among the rubble of his childhood home on South German Lane.

This original Log Cabin photo was taken near the corner of Fourth and Ingram streets looking northwest.

‘I was sucked out of the house and blown about 50 feet from the back door. I was on the ground, completely unhurt. My guitar was gone.’

— Jim Schneider, survivor

10C — Monday, April 27, 2015

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Prevailing Winds

Scenes from the storm Photos originally published in the Log Cabin Democrat

A battered playground is seen in Section B at the Arkansas Children’s Colony.

The rear of ruined homes along Angus Street, looking west.

At left, a large storage tank literally exploded as the twister tore through the Oklahoma-Mississippi River Products Line Inc., station on Highway 65 South. Right, all the glass panels of Sears and Roebuck & Co.’s new sales office on Oak Street were knocked out and extensive water damage done to the inside.

Al Hiegel’s airplane looks more like a late movie monster than a plane, as it rests on the opposite side of the street from its hangar at Conway Municipal Airport.

HENZE from 9C Thessing Grocery. The news in Conway was that east of Conway had the most damage. He did not worry about his own home. We could not call him, because the phone

RIVERS from 9C etc. were filling the air.

As we dodged the debris, Spats told us to go inside and open windows and doors. We did quickly; by then, trash was hitting the house.

Spats’ wife asked where he was. We told her he climbed under his truck in the ditch in the

lines were down. As his workday ended, about 7 p.m., he started home.

When he arrived at the corner of South German Lane and Hartje Lane, the road was covered with power poles and trees. He had to walk

the last half mile.

As he got close to his home place he could see there was no house or barn. He had no idea where his wife, Helen Henze, or his children, Carolyn and Raymond, were located.

God was good to us, because we did not have a scratch.

It took almost three hours before our dog found his way home. He was coated with mud.

Our cows were chained in the barn. The barn

was gone and our cows took refuge about a quarter mile east of home, next to our stock pond.

The trash and 99 uprooted trees kept us and volunteers busy for months.

Our house was built

by George Hoelzeman and many volunteers.

We moved back into our new home on July 4, 1965.

I know a lot of families in Conway had similar experiences.

God bless them all.

front yard. She tried to go outside and Fred had to tackle her and hold her down.

I was in the back bedroom trying to get under the bed; Fred had made a modern bed in shop class, and as skinny as I was I couldn’t get under it. In the northeast bedroom with windows on the north and east cor-

ners, debris was sucked out of the room through the back (north) window, some trash came through the east window and out the north window. A small tree came through the window. I thought I was going to die.

After the storm passed, we went outside; it was unbelievable. The house across the street

was gone. It was stacked up about four feet high in the front yard. There was no sight of the truck that Spats was under and no Spats. A few seconds later, he came walking from the back yard. What a blessing! We were not hurt, I think there were six people killed.

It took us all spring and summer and into

early fall to repair the house, working every waking moment. When we were finished, Spats asked how much he owed me for my help!

I told him, almost in tears, all the pay I needed was that God let us all survive. I did ask for a six pack of his homemade German beer.

As I look back on the

tornado, I don’t remember praying! I just knew God had us in his hands.

He left me here to marry, have four children, a good business, achieve many awards, be a Hall of Fame runner. God has blessed me beyond all my dreams! To live in Conway is one of my many blessings.

God bless Conway.

Monday, April 27, 2015 — 11C

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Prevailing Winds

Business Legacy kordsmeier Remodeling grows in Storm’s aftermath

F

By BRANDON RIDDLE LOG CABIN DEMOCRAT

ifty years ago, an EF4 tornado left its mark on Conway. That same year, a remodeling business started in the city – its sole mission devoting time to be of service to customers, especially those looking to rebuild and regather their thoughts.

That mission has stayed the same since.

Kordsmeier Remodeling Service Inc. now finds itself in a city that has grown exponentially, with a visible construction footprint marking the company’s impact.

“We started a month before the tornado,” said Robert “Bob” Kordsmeier, founder and patriarch of Kordsmeier Remodeling.

“It kept us busy, but as far as the impact, we had a lot of contacts before the tornado ever started. People were building homes but no one was repairing homes back then.”

Bob said he witnessed the April 10, 1965, tornado from 6th Street, missing it barely, as he recalled. The tornado touched down south of Favre Lane between South Donaghey Avenue and South German Lane. It then stayed on the ground for 4.7 miles in a northeasterly direction.

“We mostly stayed right in remodeling for many a moon right there,” he said. “That’s all we did because there was a lot of work they couldn’t get done all at one time.”

About 30 or 40 projects were handled at that time, Bob said.

The company began with humble beginnings – a two-man crew and one other employee. Bob said the company started with no dump trucks and was willing to take on any project that came its way.

Kordsmeier Remodeling soon found its niche, with the customer being the top priority. To this day, the company credits its success to the support and repeat business of customers in the area – some of which are now into their second and third generations.

(Assistant managing editor Brandon Riddle can be reached by email at brandon.riddle@thecabin.net, by phone at 505-1215 or on Twitter @BrandonCRiddle. To comment on this and other stories in the Log Cabin, log on to thecabin.net. Send us your news at thecabin.net/submit)

In these original Log Cabin Democrat photos, an overturned automobile, the roots of an upended tree (at top) tell part of the story of the storm in this scene of Pete Simon’s home at the corner of Ingram and Second streets; above, beds were slung against the wall and some torn to shreds in some cottages at the Arkansas Childrens Colony. The children were in other rooms.

Three generations of the Kordsmeier family stand in front of their remodeling business — Ronnie, owner, Robert “Bob,” founder, and Michael, sales team member.

Brandon Riddle Staff Photo

12C — Monday, April 27, 2015

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Prevailing Winds

Scenes from the storm Photos originally published in the Log Cabin Democrat

The ruins of Paul Jobe’s home at 555 Ingram Street is in foreground of this original Log Cabin photo.

Francis T. Donovan’s home is in background.

The home of Miss Antoinette Thessing, 574 Ingram St., Jim Schneider’s overturned vehicle is at left.

In Memoriam Mrs. Oliver Coleman, 60, 511 Third Street Mrs. Esther Perkins, 63, Rt. 2, Conway Mrs. Ida E. Owens, 81, 355 Garland St. Mrs. Oma Noe, 83, 516 Fifth Street Mrs. H.J. Gwatney, 82, 516 Fifth Street Loyd M. McFall, 56, Fort Smith, Conway

Above left, Roy Woole’s car, at left, and Cecil Leggit’s car are buried in the rubbish of a home on Sixth Street. Above, six of Arkansas Power & Light Co.’s most modern mechanized construction vehicles were put into service in Conway to aid Conway Corp.’s crews working in the tornado-ravaged areas.

This scene shows the AP&L crew working on one of the city’s main feeder circuits on Monroe Street to restore service to Conway’s sewage pumping plant and to residential customers served from this circuit. The circuit had to be rebuilt.

Some areas were without power for 36 hours or more.

Monday, April 27, 2015 — 1D

Log Cabin Democrat • Find our online edition at www.thecabin.net

Prevailing Winds

Remembering 1957 The Log Cabin Democrat revisits reports and coverage of the Conway tornado that marks 58 years.

The front page of the May 14, 1957, Log Cabin Democrat assesses the loss and destruction following the Monday, May 13, tornado.

Reporting Disaster The following are excerpts from Log Cabin Democrat reports

21 Persons Injured, Three Seriously; More Than a Dozen Homes Reduced to Rubble

1957

A tornado described as “narrow but ferocious” spread a path of destruction west of this college town and then through the northwest and northern sections of the city shortly after noon yesterday. Twelve persons were injured — three critically and three seriously — and they were hospitalized. Two of the more seriously injured were removed to Little Rock hospitals. More than a dozen homes were demolished and scores had damage done to roofs and outbuildings. Trees were uprooted through the path of the twister. The width of the storm was estimated at no more than 100 yards.

...

The more seriously injured were E. F. Kinard, 53, an attendant at the Horton Service Station at the northern edge of the city on Highways 64-65; Mrs. Elwin Ward Lasley, 25, whose home was reduced to kindling wood; and Terry Gene Garrison, four and one-half month-old infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Garrison.

DISASTER < 2D

2D — Monday, April 27, 2015

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Prevailing Winds DISASTER from 1D Mr. Kinard was removed to St. Vincent’s Infirmary in Little Rock.

He is suffering from internal injuries. His condition is critical.

The Garrison baby was removed to Arkansas Baptist Hospital.

His injuries also are regarded as serious. Mrs. Lasley suffered a skull fracture and internal injuries.

Others hospitalized included: Gregory Canton, 12, son of Mr. and Mrs. Howard Canton, head injury and possible fractured pelvis.

Cynthia Clark, 5; Elwin Wayne, 4, and Roger Lee Lasley, two, all children of Mrs. Lasley, also suffering from cuts and bruises and condition of none serious.

Mrs. Henry P. Smith, 72, severe head injury.

Henry P. Smith, 73, broken arm, severe bruises and lacerations.

Mrs. George O. Arning, 72, hip injury.

Mrs. Mona Garrison, 25, mother of the Garrison baby, triple fracture of the nose and other minor lacerations.

Mrs. C. M. (Flora) Beene, 28, shock.

...

The storm was doubly described as a tornado. Kelsey W. Parker, former chief of the Conway Fire Department, said he saw a funnel as it boiled out of the southwest and traveled across the western edge and northwestern and northern sections of Conway.

Parker was standing at the YBMA fairgrounds in the southern section of Conway when the storm began its destructive tour.

...

The tornado first dipped down in a settlement about a half mile from Conway and directly west of the Arkansas State Teachers College campus, which is located in the southwestern section of the city.

Three houses in a cluster were lifted from their foundation and moved to the north approximately 100 feet.

...

Mrs. Nora Elizabeth Dalton, who was just seconds before the twister hit asked to leave to seek shelter in the next house to the north.

...

One home, on the south, was vacant. It was owned by Miss Lois Dalton’s mother, Mrs. Nora Elizabeth Dalton, who, just seconds before the twister hit, was asked to seek shelter in the next house to the north, which too was wrecked.

In this home were Mr. and Mrs. R. M. Smith and an unidentified baby.

...

Mr. Arning, a retired railroad employee, was caught beneath the rubble of his residence but he escaped. His wife was trapped inside the house and she was injured bad enough to be hospitalized.

“I didn’t hear it coming until it was right on us,” Mr. Arning said. “I went to the front door and about that time I was blown back towards the center. I’d say the first I realized we were in a storm was when the glass window blew out

the front door.”

...

The Lasley home at 2128 Duncan Street was picked up and moved at least 200 yards and let down alongside the home of the Reverend and Mrs W. F. Pritchett at 2123 Weems Street. The Lasley home was reduced to splinters. Mrs. Lasley, her face covered with mud, was found by relatives as she lay in a nearby drainage ditch. Her head was out of the water. The Pritchett home was twisted from its foundation.

...

...

to the west was completely blocked Conway vicinity. for several hours from a tree falling across the road.

A storm roared across the western side of Conway, causing heavy 40 Homes Destroyed damage, earlier this month. But the destruction on May 3, howev- and Damaged— er, was nothing to compare to yesTornado Affects 76 terday is lost.

...

Ida Burns School Attendance Good Following Storm The tornado which struck Ida Burns Elementary School yesterday was past history today as far as the pupils were concerned.

Miss Julia Lee Moore, principal, reported to Supt. Hayes Gibson that attendance at the school was 92 percent and “excepting for Mrs. Bolding’s room” it was 95 percent.

Mrs. Bolding’s room was the hardest hit by the storm. He said that the entire roof of the southern part of the building was “lifted up” and the damage will be heavy.

Next in the path of the storm was the Ida Burns School. The swirling wind blew past the solid brick wall on the south side of the school and then seems to have backtracked and knocked out the window on the east side of the building.

Mrs. Selma W. E. Molding, wife of an Arkansas welfare worker, was credited with saving numerous children from serious injury.

The concrete wall between Mrs. Bolding’s room and the next room to the north, occupied by Mrs. DaDamage From vid M. Doyle and her fifth grade class, collapsed and threw the Tornado Is room together.

Estimated “I told the children to get under their desks,” Mrs. Bolding At $250,000 said. “I had been told that was the best thing to do in the event of a Mayor M. M. Satterfield estistorm.” mated today that damage from yesterday’s tornado will be in excess of $250,000. “This is a conservative estimate,” Mayor SatterNumerous big trees were up- field said. “It will require a careful rooted in the same district and survey to get the exact amount.” outbuildings wrecked. The International Shoe Co. building was undamaged. Two homes on Davis Street, east of the shoe plant, were Some storm briefs: destroyed and four persons in the • Miss Julia Lee Moore, princitwo houses injured. ple of Ida Burns School, said that Henry P. Smith had just re- injured children were first returned to his home at 1527 Davis moved to the school infirmary and St. when the storm hit. then transferred to the hospital.

He told relatives he believed he “The children were just wonderwas hit by a piece of timber as he ful,” Miss Moore declared. got out of his car. Mrs. Garrison, whose husband is a shoe plant • Other school authorities later foreman, and her baby had left said that while the children — no their own home and gone to the more than 12 or 13 years of age — Smiths’ seconds before the resi- remained calm, parents came rundence was destroyed. The Smith ning to the school showing signs home was lifted in its entirety of strain. Some in fact were alfrom the foundation and moved to most hysterical. the site of the Garrison home and the Garrison house tossed like • Mrs. W.E. Bolding, the hero of a bag of medicine ball across the the storm as far as Ida Burns pustreet and then across the nearby pils are concerned, said 24 of her Missouri Pacific railroad tracks. 28 pupils were in attendance yesMore than an hour was needed to terday. clean the track.

• Countless numbers of homes had their roofs damaged. In some places there were less than a halfThe next spot of destruction dozen shingles torn away and at was the Horton’s Service Sta- other places there was considertion. The concrete roof was lift- able more roof damage. Televied from the building and carried sion antennas were smashed atop more than 300 yards north along homes over a wide area.

Highway 64-65. Windows on three sides of the station burst out. Mr. • Little Rock television stations Kinard was alone at the time. Tor- sent numerous personnel here to nado winds also stuck struck at cover the storm scene. There were Guy, 20 miles north of here. Tom “on the spot” broadcasts from nuSpears’ home was destroyed and merous Conway victims and perbarns on the I.H. and A.T. Fielder sons having direct connection with farms destroyed. the storm damage.

Television scenes were carried on national networks today. Wire photographs were sent over facilMayor Charles Bridewell and ities of the Associated Press and Sheriff Marlin Hawkins sent po- United Press throughout the Unitlice and radio equipment here ed States. from Morrilton. Mayor M. M. Satterfield was on the scene from the • The girls at the Conway exstart. He ordered street crews change were “extra nice” to press to aid in removing debris from covering the biggest of tornadoes streets and roadways. Highway 60 ever to strike in the immediate

...

...

...

... ...

Families

The American Red Cross reported yesterday that 76 families in Faulkner County were affected by a tornado that struck first in Conway and then the guy and Greenbriar areas.

Leroy Robberson, Red Cross’ field representative, said 13 homes immediately adjacent and in Conway were destroyed and major damage done to 13 more. Forty residences, he said, sustained minor damage. There also was damage to four business structures, including destruction of a service station on Highway 64-65 at the northern edge of Conway. In all, 21 farm buildings were destroyed, heaven had major damage and 7 minor damage. 12 persons were hospitalized following the twister.

To later were sent to Little Rock hospitals.

Mr. Robberson said the Red Cross estimated it would spend $20,000 on property losses and $4,000 for medical expenses. He pointed out that the agency does not operate on a loan basis. Disaster victims are expected to apply their own resources first, Mr. Robberson said, and then the Red Cross will assist in additional needs. An advisory committee would be selected this week, Theo J. Hiegel, disaster chairman, said.

Faulkner County lacked $500 reaching a quote of $7,405 in the recent campaign for funds. Of the $6,900 raised, half was kept in the county for local work and half was sent to the national organization.

...

Tornado-Affected Areas Patrolled Chief of Police C.O. Hensley said today that all available police on his force were pressed into duty Monday following the tornado that ripped across this city. The officers were called to assist night police in controlling the affected areas and each man responded, chief Hensley said. No looting of any sort was detected. The storm areas inside the city were patrolled through much of the night.

Sightseers, both walking and riding, were numerous until after 9 p.m., officers said.

...

Dog Comes Through Tornado Unscathed Killed Later By Car The Waverly Johnson’s little dog took his lumps during the storm Monday, but, shortly after he was found unharmed, an automobile ended his life. The animal was chained to the front door of the Johnson home when the tornado demolished the frame dwelling. After the storm Andy Aldridge, who lives next door, found the dog under his car, alive and safe.

Aldrich said the dog was blown loose from the porch more than 25 yards to his car. He said the chain and a piece of the door was still attached to the animal. Several hours later, the dog was hit by a motorist who was in the area viewing the storm damage.

‘I didn’t hear it coming until it was right on us’

— Mr. Arning, retired railroad employee

Monday, April 27, 2015 — 3D

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Prevailing Winds

Remembering 2011 The tornado that shook a small town to its core on April 25, 2011, prepared residents for what would come just three years later.

‘wiped out’ by storm (EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was originally published very shortly after the 2011 tornado struck Vilonia, before the total number of lives lost were accounted for and before the full amount of damage was assessed.)

By LINDA HICKS LOG CABIN CORRESPONDENT

Arkansas Department of Emergency Management spokesman Tommy Jackson says two people died Monday in Vilonia, where a tornado likely ripped through the area.

Vilonia Fire Chief Keith Hillman says between 50 and 60 people remained unaccounted for late Monday night, but he expected many simply weren’t reachable. He said he didn’t expect the toll to rise significantly. Hillman says fire crews wrapped up work overnight and planned to resume Tuesday morning.

A severe storm “wiped out” an area of downtown Vilonia about 7:30 p.m. Monday, city officials said.

Stephan Hawks, a Faulkner County spokesman, says one person died in the town, where a path of damage stretches three miles wide and 15 miles long, the Associated Press reported late Monday.

“It’s just a mess here,” Mayor James Firestone said. “There are trees and power lines down everywhere. Highway 64 is closed. An 18-wheeler is turned over. Only emergency vehicles are being let in. And we need them.”

Houses and businesses are gone, cars are turned over and the city is in the dark, he added.

Also, he said, he had heard reports that some people in Rocky Point were trapped in a storm cellar.

Another family was trapped in a mobile home. In Black Oak, he said, there were reports that one family was trapped in a mobile home. He said, “as far as he knew” there have been no fatalities. However, he said, he has heard an 18-year-old girl has been injured. Police and fire department officials were out surveying the damage in the darkness.

“As bad as it is, we are lucky,” he said. “We are very lucky. It could have been a lot worse with a lot of lives lost.”

Resident Billy Mitchell, who lives in the downtown area, described the town as “wiped out.” His family

STORM < 7D

Insulation from Vilonia-area homes destroyed in the 2011 tornado is seen in this Log Cabin Democrat file photo.

4D — Monday, April 27, 2015

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COllege FOOtbAll

2011 COVERAGE Arkansas coach has high expectations for defense Pa g e 7 a

lOCAl: Conway Corp.’s contract with NRG to be extended

2A

www.thecabin.net CONWAY, Ark., WedNesdAY, April 27, 2011

132nD Year — no. 226

t

R undabout

TODAY n Toad Suck Daze is currently at Toadcon 3. Toad Procurement for Toad Suck Daze has been rescheduled because of Tuesday’s threatening weather. The event begins near dusk at the Tucker Creek Walking Trail. Children will still be able to bring in toads to the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce.

One Toad Buck will be given for each toad, up to a total of 10. n Sen. John Boozman, RArk., will speak to the Conway Kiwanis Club at noon at Ryan’s Family Steakhouse. n The Downtown Merchants Association will meet at 8:45 a.m. at Cross Creek Sandwich Shop.

THURSDAY n A prayer vigil will be held for Alexis George at 7 p.m. at 1272 7th St. next door to Hog Pen BBQ. The public is invited.

For more information, call Edward Franklin at 501-908-0010. n The Liberty Fire Department board meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at 562 Highway 64 East.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY n 30th annual Toad Suck Daze.

See inside today’s Log Cabin for the 2011 Festival Guide and a schedule of activities.

SATURDAY n Members of the Southern Professional Bull Riders Association will be holding a benefit event beginning at 7 p.m. at the Don Owens Sports Complex. All proceeds from the gate and concessions will go to help cover the medical costs for 5-year-old Emmalee Fitzgerald as she battles leukemia. Tickets are $10 for adults and $4 for children and can be purchased at the gate the night of the event. For more information, contact Wes Fason at (501) 269-6213 or Jacob Kennemeir at (501) 529-1210.

Spirits still high after storm

Officials praise community’s response by beCkY hArris LOG CABIN STAFF WRITER

by liNdA hiCks LOG CABIN CORRESPONDENT

A

A

VILONIA — At 10 a.m. Tuesday, 86-yearold Lorene Shaw was sitting in a pickup truck in Vilonia, still dressed in her night clothes.

She lost everything but “the clothes on my back” when Monday night’s tornado demolished her mobile home on Main Street.

“It took everything,” she said.

“But our spirits around here are high. We are all alive. I’ve got them looking for my purse.”

Many of her relatives and friends were on the scene helping with the cleanup salvaging through the remains of her demolished trailer. Also hit were a barn and a vacant house, which she referred to as her old “home place” sitting just a few yards away. The house, she estimated, was more than 100 years old and her late mother and father had lived it in.

The storm system killedd four people from the area and 10 statewide.

She said she lived in the mobile home along with her grandson, his wife and two children who helped to take care of her.

But, during the tornado, Shaw said, many more of her family was present. She, along with 23 other family members and one dog, took refuge in a storm cellar during the tornado. One in the cellar was her grandson, Justin Shaw. During the couple of minutes of the storm, he said, the entire family prayed out loud.

“After the prayer, we went

A mobile home in Vilonia was blown off of its foundation during Monday night’s tornado that injured several and killed four. SARAH LEWIS PHOTO outside, and it was all gone,” he said.

Three in the cellar, he described, were holding a piece of plywood over the opening of the cellar because due to the door being rotted off from the hinges. Through some cracks, he said, they witnessed the tornado destroy the mobile home and an outbuilding.

“It was just really fast,” he said.

No one was injured, Justin Shaw said, including a second dog, named Otis, who weathered the storm in the mobile home.

Lorene Shaw’s great-grandson, Kaleb, 11, choked back tears as

iNside: How to help Neighbors helping neighbors Guardsmen lend aid Vilonia Fire Department stays busy

page 7b he talked about the event. Helping with the search, he said he was looking for his guitar. Under debris, he found a photo and brought it to the elderly Shaw for safe keeping.

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Across Vilonia and surrounding areas, residents awakened Tuesday to find houses demolished or without roofs, damaged

spirits n 2a

At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Vilonia officials — Mayor James Firestone, Fire Chief Keith Hillman and Police Chief Brad McNew — joined County Judge Preston Scroggin to discuss the deadly tornado that devastated their community.

“We’re so proud of how everybody has been helping their neighbors in need,” Scroggin said, outlining a few of the agencies, businesses and individuals that had responded to the emergency.

The swath of the tornado was 2 1/2 miles wide and 15 miles long, it was determined, Firestone said.

“We took a lick out here.

The damage is beyond description,” Scroggin said, “but we will try to pick up and put our lives back together, though Vilonia will never be the same.

“We’re very sad for the lives that were lost.”

Faulkner County Coroner Patrick Moore on Tuesday released the names of the four victims that were killed by the tornado that struck Vilonia, east of Conway, on Monday night.

The body of Charles Austin Mitchell, 55, 4 East Willow Springs Road, Conway, was

officials n 3a

Black Oak Ranch area among worst hit during storm

t-storms likely 68/45

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Death toll reaches 4 in Vilonia

WeAther

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24 pages

damage shown here near the intersection of Shawnee Drive and Crooked Creek in Black Oak Ranch Estates was said to be among the most severe. At least three residents in the vicinity of the Vilonia neighborhood died in Monday’s tornado. STUART HOLT PHOTO

by CANdie beCk LOG CABIN STAFF WRITER

After surviving a night that seemed to stretch on forever, Valerie Goza says she is thankful that her family is safe and sound.

Goza, who lives in the Black Oak Ranch area of Vilonia, which was hit the worst by the storm, said that her family survived because they listened to warnings and went to her mother’s storm shelter to avoid getting caught in the storm’s path.

“We had been watching the news all night, and it just kept getting worse so we decided we had better go somewhere safe,” she said. “We went to my mother’s home, which is nearby on Gun Barrel Road and stayed in the

storm shelter. There were 11 family members in the shelter and two dogs, but we had lots of space and more importantly, we are all fine.”

Goza and her family stayed at her mother’s home until about 1:30 a.m., when they returned home to check on their property. When they arrived at their residence, they saw that their home was still standing but had suffered some damage.

“The first thing we saw was that our home was still standing and we were thankful,” she said. “The roof has some holes in it but it is still livable, which is more than I can say for some of our poor neighbors.”

While Goza’s home was still stand-

black oak n 2a

Dignitaries gather to ceremonially open Southwestern Energy headquarters by beCkY hArris LOG CABIN STAFF WRITER

A

A gathering of dignitaries, seated in the shadow of Southwestern Energy’s $25 million regional headquarters in The Village at Hendrix on Tuesday, heard the company’s CEO and president say that 3 percent of the nation’s natural gas now comes from North Arkansas.

That bit of information drew applause from the standing-room-only crowd that included, among others,

U.S. Sen. John Boozman, RArk., the board of directors of SWN and Conway Mayor Tab Townsell.

Before the ribbon cutting ceremonially opening the building, CEO Steve Mueller said: “This facility is another indication that we are committed to our operations in the Fayetteville Shale and that we are dedicated to our position in Arkansas.”

Townsell said when he first heard of the “Fayetteville Shale,” he was slow to embrace the name.

“Why couldn’t it have been the Conway Shale?” he said to a smiling audience. “But I’d rather have the Fayetteville Shale headquarters in Conway than the Conway Shale headquarters in Fayetteville.”

Boozman praised Southwestern for its efforts in “producing the product we so desperately need.

“Cheap energy is so important ... to compete with China and India. This premier company makes it possible for us to use the resources God has

blessed us with,” Boozman said.

The 120,000 square-foot building that houses 320 employees (with room for future growth) is situated on an 11.5 acre site adjoining Hendrix College.

The knowledge-based jobs located in the facility include geoscientists, engineers, data analysts, information technology specialists, accountants and human resource personnel.

Mueller said that early in the project, in 2007, SWN de-

cided to pursue a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

He talked about some of the building’s features that reduce operating costs and provide employee benefits, such as improved indoor air quality and “a sense of shared environmental stewardship.”

Recycled and regional materials were used in construc-

headquarters n 2a

‘It took everything. But spirits around here are high.

We are all alive. I’ve got them looking for my purse.’

—

Lorene Shaw, 86, Vilonia resident

‘I am amazed at the humanitatian side of this.

You can’t imagine the outpouring.’

—

Mayor James Firestone

Monday, April 27, 2015 — 5D

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Picking up the Pieces volunteers bring aid, comfort

By LINDA HICKS LOG CABIN CORRESPONDENT

A week ago, Brenda Norton of Shreveport, La., loaded up her truck with work clothes and a mattress and headed to Vilonia to help with tornado relief efforts.

There were a lot of unknowns. She didn’t know the extent of the damage, what she would be doing or how long she would be staying. All she knew was that she had a desire to help.

Arriving at the Vilonia Fire Department, the pieces of the puzzle fell in place, she said.

“I knew I was where I was supposed to be,” Norton said Tuesday morning as she was heading out for the day. “The fire department adopted me. They put me up here in the station, and they put me to work.”

She would be going back to a house belonging to Barbara Bullion Ballard, where she had been working at on and off since she arrived. Her job was to help with cleaning up the glass and debris on the inside. Dressed in jeans, a khaki shirt and a ball cap, she planned to spend Tuesday taking care of the outside. Limbs needed piling and she also said she was determined to climb on the roof and secure tarps.

“I’ve always been a get-your-handsdirty type of person,” she said.

A retired occupational therapist, Norton said she has experience organizing and responding to disasters.

She helped with emergency response efforts after Hurricane Katrina and also helped in Mena following a tornado. However, this is the first time she has gone alone. Generally, she travels with a church group.

“I was following Vilonia on the Internet, and I knew when the time was right, I was going,” she said.

She talked briefly about an influx of volunteers shortly after a disaster and how they tend to dwindle as time goes on. Norton plans to go home for the weekend and return on Monday.

She’s not sure how long she will stay when she returns.

“A lot of people have picked up stakes and moved on,” she said.

“There are people here who still need a lot of help. Mrs. Ballard still needs me.”

Ballard agreed. She believes that Norton was a “Godsend.” Both women said they have formed a lasting bond.

Ballard and her little dog Daisy rode the tornado out lying on the floor beside the bed. Neither were hurt. The house sustained heavy roof damage, her windows were shattered, and a couple of outbuildings were demolished.

“I kept waiting for the freight train sound,” Ballard said. “All I could hear was the sound of breaking glass and the ripping of metal and screws. There was a pressure inside that you wouldn’t believe. It got quiet once and it was like it hit again. Really, it was like two (tornadoes) hit.”

Afterward, Ballard tells of sitting in the dark for a short time to gather her wits. It dawned on her to get her flashlight, she said, and to begin blinking SOS. A neighbor, she said, responded. He notified the fire department and they were on scene quickly, she said.

“The firefighters, police and volunteers could not have done a better job,” she added.

Since, she said, she has been receiving a lot of much needed help. In the immediate days following the April 25, tornado, she said, she experienced incidents of “shaking inside.”

“I couldn’t make any decisions for a while,” she said, adding she received some helpful advice and she has been following through with success.

“Rather than to look at the whole picture of everything I have to do,” she said. “I have been picking one project per day and knocking it out. That advice helped me more than anything.”

For now, Ballard plans to take it “one day at a time,” while staying in a loaned Class-A motorhome, parked in her yard while the work continues on her house. Vilonia is home. Her greatgrandfather settled in the area, she said, just before the Civil War.

Volunteers, friends and neighbors pitched in immediately following the storm in these Log Cabin file photos.

“I kept waiting for the freight train sound. All I could hear was the sound of breaking glass and the ripping of metal and screws. There was a pressure inside that you wouldn’t believe. It got quiet once and it was like it hit again. Really, it was like two (tornadoes) hit.”

—

HOME < 6D

Providing shelter

Volunteers prepare a Red Cross shelter following the 2011 tornado in Vilonia that damaged homes, displacing many residents.

Barbara Bullion Ballard

6D — Monday, April 27, 2015

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REMEMBERING 2011

Animals and pets were among the displaced during the 2011 Vilonia tornado in these Log Cabin file photos.

HOME from 5D On that note, she shared that she used to be an employee of the Log Cabin Democrat back in the 1950s.

In 1953, she moved to Michigan and lived there for about 22 years.

She moved back to the area in 1974, fol-

lowing a divorce, to help her aging parents.

She remarried in 1975 to Raymond Ballard, who died six weeks prior to April’s tornado.

“This is bad,” she said. “But it’s nothing like a death. It doesn’t compare to the death of my husband.”

She and her husband built the house from

scratch. He was a woodworker, and the house is full of his carvings as well as many unique pieces of art and antiques that were not damaged as a result of the tornado.

An auction is planned for Memorial Day, she said, where she will offer up many items including tools, garden wagons, farm equipment and many more items.

Monday, April 27, 2015 — 7D

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Scenes from the storm Log Cabin Democrat photos

The Arkansas National Guard assembles in Vilonia to begin recovery and aid efforts.

A vehicle is buried under a pile of debris in Vilonia.

Power poles were snapped by the winds.

STORM from 3D was in a storm shelter when it hit.

“I have been in that storm cellar many times since 1964,” he said. “I have never heard anything like I heard tonight.

There was wind and hail.

It was scary, now.”

Mitchell, who is an official with the Senior Citizens Center, said it has been opened as a shelter. Yet, because of the downed power lines, he was not able to make it to open it.

“There is a generator there, though, and there’s power so everyone can go there,” he added.

Other residents reported that Harp’s Grocery Store and the Nazarene Church have also been destroyed.

One housing area that received major damage was Quail Hollow. A resident of the area, Sharon Messer, said her house has received roof damage, trees were downed and storage buildings have been blown away.

“It didn’t sound like a big freight train — that is what I’ve always heard a tornado sounds like,” she said. “All I could hear was glass breaking.”

Windows were blown out of her house, and between the panes, she said, the frames are twisted.

Outside, she described an area with many other houses with major damage. Yet, she said, her house wasn’t damaged as bad as others in the area.

“It is just a mess,” she said.

Conway received heavy rain during the storm, and some damage was reported, including a tree that fell on a house in the 2100 block of Broadview Avenue. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Elsewhere in the state, a woman was swept to her death Monday afternoon when floodwaters swept her minivan off a roadway in southern Washington County.

Kelly Cantrell of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said the victim tried to cross water flowing across Arkansas 265 when she was swept into the Illinois River. The woman’s 11-year-old son survived.

The dead woman was identified as 38-year-old Consuelo Santillano of West Fork.

Gov. Mike Beebe declared a state of emer-

gency for Arkansas in the wake of the storms.

A spokesman for Beebe said Monday the state of emergency will be retroactive until April 19 when the last batch of storms whipped across Arkansas. Forecasters reported damage at Morgan and Maumelle along Interstate 40.

Utility officials say more than 72,000 homes and businesses are without electricity across Arkansas.

Damage was reported to be widespread in Garland County in the western part of the state.

Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample says the state won’t likely know the extent of damage caused by Monday’s flooding and tornadoes until Tuesday or Wednesday.

The Storm Prediction Center had predicted significant severe weather over much of Arkansas for Monday, and storms quickly grew violent in the heat of the day. Forecasters say Tuesday could bring another bout of bad weather.

Information from The Associated Press and from Log Cabin staff members was used in this report.

8D — Monday, April 27, 2015

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Scenes from the storm Log Cabin Democrat photos

An aerial photo shows neighborhood destruction, homes missing roofs and the beginning of clean-up efforts in Vilonia shortly after the 2011 storm.

Above, debris from the tornado’s path was strewn all around Faulkner County. At right, residents make attempts to return to their homes in the days after the storm. Below right, a large vehicle is seen wedged between a tree and a fence line in Faulkner County.

Monday, April 27, 2015 — 9D

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MAYFLOWER SEES 2011 IMPACT

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was originally published in the Thursday, April 28, 2011, Log Cabin Democrat.)

By COURTNEY SPRADLIN LOG CABIN STAFF WRITER

The same storm that devastated the Vilonia area Monday and killed four people also destroyed homes and caused minor injuries to residents of Mayflower.

It was confirmed by Warning Coordination Meteorologist John Robinson of the National Weather Service on Wednesday that the same tornado that hit Vilonia touched down on the Pulaski County side of Mayflower.

“We looked at damage there today and it was definitely the same storm that went through Vilonia,” Robinson said.

“We’ve plotted it between Mayflower and Morgan. It crossed Highway 365 out of Mayflower and crossed I-40.”

Robinson and his colleagues began plotting the EF2 tornado’s track Tuesday and found its starting point to be west of Ferndale.

Robinson said he suspects that the

tornado went through Romance, White County and beyond.

The team of trackers followed damage Tuesday to the north side of Vilonia until dusk.

“We hope to find the end of it before it gets dark today,” he said.

Of the Grassy Lake Road community, Robinson said that he saw “thousands” of downed trees.

Homeowner Justin Dillon, who lives off Rotunda Circle, said he spent the storm in a safe room in his grandparents’ house near his.

Dillon’s home was struck by a tree, was removed from its foundation and flooded.

His house’s windows were blown out, and a vehicle collided with a wall, causing much structural damage.

Dillon’s father, Kevin Dillon, was in his home, also nearby, when the tornado hit.

The roof of Justin Dillon’s parents’ home was lifted, though his father was unharmed.

“He was coming to the safe room where we were and he didn’t make it in time,” Dillon said.

The Dillon family has four homes in the area, all of which were emptied Tuesday with the help of around 50 friends and family members.

“Everything was wet. We got it all out but I don’t know if any of it is still good,” Dillon said.

Baker said it may be weeks before any of the residents will know if they qualify

‘Homes were destroyed and quite a bit of damage occurred to other ones. About 15 homes were damaged and two were completely destroyed.’

— Billy Baker

Police Chief Billy Baker said Wednesday that City of Mayflower Police aided Pulaski County Sheriff’s deputies in damage assessment following Monday night’s storm.

“Homes were destroyed and quite a bit of damage occurred to other ones. About 15 homes were damaged and two were completely destroyed,” Baker said.

Baker said that he was aware of only minor injuries after officers went door-todoor to assess damages.

MAYFLOWER < 10D

Hard Work Ahead Heavy debris was common throughout Faulkner County after the April 2011 tornado. Much of the initial clean-up took more than a year.

‘We took a lick out here. The damage is beyond description.’

—

Preston Scroggin, Faulkner County Judge

10D — Monday, April 27, 2015

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Scenes from the storm Log Cabin Democrat photos

The Power of People

MAYFLOWER from 9D for individual assistance for disaster areas.

“With all the disasters in the state, it could be several weeks before we know if that will happen.

The state will take into consideration all the disaster areas,” he said.

Dillon said he hopes for assistance.

According to Bak-

er, roads are clear in the area, though some power lines are down, and homeowners are still clearing debris and attempting to secure homes so that more water and wind damage do not occur.

The Mayflower Fire Department assisted in cleanup and provided food for workers in the area.

The largest part of what allowed Vilonia and other affected areas of Faulkner County to bounce back were the people who were so valuable.

Monday, April 27, 2015 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 11D

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Scenes from the storm Log Cabin Democrat photos

The Challenges Storm photos capture every kind of destruction and damage, from what seems like a million snapped trees, mighty ones that were completely uprooted, tractor-trailers spilled alongside roadways and just picking up the pieces of what once was.

12D — Monday, April 27, 2015

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Scenes from the storm Log Cabin Democrat photos

Path of Destruction

The April 2011 tornado barrelled through Faulkner County with power, leveling anything and everything in its path. At top, houses nestled deep in groves of trees sit relatively untouched, as the breadth of the storm is evidenced in the flattened landscape. Center, a modular home is completely blown away from it’s foundation and into a nearby body of water. At right, a residence is completely obliterated.

In Memoriam Charles Austin Mitchell, 55, East Willow Springs Road, Conway Craig D. Garvin, 63, Crooked Creek Road, Conway David Talley, 45, 17 Stacey Cove, Conway Katherine Talley, 45, 17 Stacey Cove, Conway

1E — Monday, April 27, 2015

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Remembering 2014 Only three years after a major tornado struck Vilonia, another deadly tornado on April 27, 2014, wreaked havoc on the community, this time also taking aim at Mayflower. The Log Cabin Democrat reflects on the one-year anniversary.

At left, Mayflower residents begin assessing the damage along Highway 365 the morning after the tornado in this Log Cabin file photo. Below, Vilonia’s much anticipated intermediate school was nearing completion when the storm hit, wiping out much progress.

‘We will soar again’ awful destruction in vilonia

By JOE LAMB LOG CABIN STAFF WRITER

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published April 28, 2014) Before dawn, and before any media was allowed in, police and emergency workers who had been in Vilonia said that much of downtown was “gone.”

There was little exaggeration in this description for about three blocks of downtown Vilonia east of Cemetery Street when first light showed what Sunday night’s tornado did there. It would be unrecogniz-

able to someone not very familiar with the town.

Everywhere along the storm’s path, the worst core of which looked to be about 1,000 feet wide, is devastated. Those trees that are still standing in the path’s center were reduced to bare trunks with stumps of limbs — not one leaf remains. Houses are piles of lumber or brick piled on and strewn about their foundations. Here and there a wall or two may still stand.

The strip mall at Main and Elizabeth Streets is destroyed. The store at the west end was reduced to a bare concrete slab that looked like it had been scrubbed clean, metal and shelving and merchandise and shopping carts and a pickup truck swept by the wind into the northeast corner of

what was the store in a pile that could almost be called tidy.

Keith’s Service Center is destroyed.

The convenience store part is still mostly standing, but the shop behind it is gone.

Along the Vilonia Bypass, fences and a deep roadside ditch caught small pieces of what the tornado scattered; light switches, a TV remote control, the white wire rack from someone’s dishwasher, a blanket, a toddler-sized jacket and broken toys.

A stuffed toy dog was stuck on a fencepost and hung just over what could only have been a Christmas stocking. A car was on its side in a field. A woman that was in the car when it was blown off the road is one

LOST < 2E

A TALE OF SURVIVAL FROM DAM ROAD

By MICHELLE CORBET LOG CABIN DEMOCRAT

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published April 30, 2014) “When it was over, it got really quiet,” Amanda Robertson said.

Robertson, of Conway, is a single mom to two daughters. She was at her parent’s house at 110 Dam Road in Mayflower when the storm hit Sunday night.

Robertson’s oldest daughter Mallory, 9, was safe at church in Morgan, Ark. with Robertson’s mother Connie Robertson.

Her youngest daughter Maddie, 5, however, was in Mayflower.

“I remember praying the whole time and holding on to Maddie,” Robertson said.

Robertson caught a glimpse of the news warning Mayflower residents that the tornado was coming their way as she and her father Leon Robertson grabbed Maddie and headed for a hallway with no windows.

“You could hear it coming,” Robertson said,

Log Cabin file photo.

TALE < 3E

2E — Monday, April 27, 2015

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GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO DEADLY TORNADO PRESIDENT OBAMA VISITS WITH VICTIMS

By JIM KUHNHENN ASSOCIATED PRESS

At top, President Barack Obama speaks with Vilonia resident Daniel Smith and sons Gabriel Dority and Garrison Dority. In bottom photo, then-Gov. Mike Beebe speaks with Mayflower Mayor Randy Holland about tornado recovery efforts in the area.

LOST from 1E of the confirmed casualties.

The tornado took a path from Mayflower almost due northwest from the intersection of South Coker Road and

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published May 7, 2014) VILONIA — By air and on foot, President Barack Obama was getting an up close and personal look Wednesday at Arkansas communities devastated by recent deadly tornadoes during a quick visit with political implications for the state.

In his first visit here as president, Obama also planned to meet with grieving families that lost loved ones, local officials and emergency personnel. Fifteen people were killed in an April 27 tornado outbreak near Little Rock that destroyed hundreds of homes.

The president stopped in Arkansas en route to California on a three-day trip to raise money for the Democratic Party, accept an award from a foundation created by movie director Steven Spielberg and discuss his energy policy.

Surveying the path of destruction by helicopter, Obama flew over a central Arkansas subdivision of short cul-desacs that was destroyed, the still-visible rubble evidence of the random but surgical devastation a tornado can wreak.

Obama’s aerial tour was to include the city of Mayflower, damage surrounding Interstate 40 and rural Faulkner County, along with Vilonia, a small city about 30 miles north of Little Rock that suffered the most extensive damage from the storms.

In Vilonia, Obama was to take a walking tour of Parkwood Meadows, where just six of its 56 homes have any part still standing. He also was to meet at City Hall with families, first responders and recovery workers.

Obama was accompanied by Gov. Mike Beebe, Sen. Mark Pryor and Rep. Tim Griffin.

Pryor is running for a third term against Republican Rep. Tom Cotton

the Vilonia bypass, destroying homes on both sides of the bypass there, through to the intersection of Wells and South Marshall Road, destroying a home and farm there, through downtown Vilonia, and on through the neighborhoods of

in one of the most expensive and closely watched Senate races in the country.

Neither faces an opponent in the May 20 primary.

Pryor’s willingness to appear with Obama contrasts with other Democrats in difficult races who have chosen to keep their distance from the president.

Obama lost Arkansas in the 2008 and 2012 elections, and polls show he remains deeply unpopular in the state.

Republicans have made major gains in Arkansas over the past two elections by tying Democrats to Obama and his policies, particularly the federal health care law.

The GOP controls both chambers of the state Legislature and holds all but one of its House and Senate seats in Washington.

Former President Bill Clinton and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson visited the storm-damaged communities of Mayflower and Vilonia on Sunday, and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate visited the day after the storm hit.

The Obama administration has designated four Arkansas counties as major disaster areas because of the storm damage. The National Weather Service has said the twister had winds reaching 166 mph to 200 mph.

The severe weather that hit Arkansas was part of a violent storm system that killed at least 35 across the Plains and South.

Obama’s visit comes a day after his administration released a new report on climate change that attributed severe weather such as hurricanes and droughts to global warming.

The report, however, states that the effect of climate change on the intensity or frequency of tornadoes is uncertain, and scientists are unsure whether climate change has played a role in recent erratic patterns of tornado activity.

North Church and East Wicker streets before going through the very dense subdivision off Naylor Road just north of Williams Road.

That subdivision is mostly destroyed.

There had been 54 houses there Sunday evening. By Sunday night only nine could fairly be said to remain. The rest were piles of debris, most with a car or two in the middle of them where the garage had been. It was hard to tell where one lot ends and another begins.

And everywhere along the path of the storm, people were sifting through debris and clearing downed trees. They were finding pictures, a doll, keepsakes. Very few were crying. Emergency workers were everywhere. Homes and vehicles that had been checked for bodies and trapped survivors were marked with orange sheets of paper and spray paint.

There were the usual strange things that come with tornados showing the curious power of wind. In one home a wall was torn away, leaving behind it a cabinet where small items were undisturbed. In a large open field between downtown Vilonia and the Naylor Road subdivision was a bare truck chassis, identifiable as a Chevrolet only by its three remaining wheels. A couple hundred yards northwest was the truck’s body, a Suburban SUV rolled into a ball just a little larger than a Volkswa-

gen Beetle.

In the subdivision, a “congratulations” balloon was still floating, tied to a car that’s probably totaled and not ten yards from an upside-down, demolished SUV. The storm killed eleven people that authorities can confirm; eight in Vilonia and three in Mayflower. Two of them are children. Sheriff Andy Shock was shaken as he talked about these children at the Vilonia Primary School early Monday morning. A school worker said she had been trying to contact “our kids” and their families. They’d contacted or heard most of them were safe, she said. County officials still aren’t sure how many people are still unaccounted for. Search and rescue teams have been working non-stop since Sunday night. Utility workers said in the early a.m. hours that they could have several leaking natural gas lines shut down by 6 a.m. County Attorney David Hogue said that rescue workers were counting on that. It appeared that they had come through.

Vilonia isn’t “gone,” but much of it is. The town will never look the same.

Much of Mayflower is gone too, as is everywhere in between and for some distance beyond the towns. The relief effort will probably take weeks. For dozens of people in the county — maybe hundreds — recovery will take years.

Monday, April 27, 2015 — 3E

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Prevailing Winds

Evaluating the Magnitude Obama recognizes conway regional among crisis first responders

By MICHELLE CORBET LOG CABIN STAFF WRITER

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published May 7, 2014) When President Barack Obama walked up to Amanda Irby, Emergency Department Director for Conway Regional Medical Center, he started thanking her for the hospital’s life-saving efforts before she had the chance to introduce herself.

Irby was among the group of first responders selected to meet with Obama during his visit to the state after an E4 tornado tore through Faulkner County on April 27, initially killing 11 people and an unborn infant a week later.

“When it was my turn he saw my name badge and recognized Conway Regional,” Irby said. “He thanked and applauded us on our

efforts that Sunday night.”

On April 27, Conway Regional Medical Center had about 100 patients come to the Emergency Room in a matter of hours, Irby said. More than half were critically injured, she said.

“Our initial plan was to have our main ER designated for critical patients and the outpatient interventional area used for severally injured but not critical and more stable patients,” Irby said.

After the first group of patients came to the hospital, Irby quickly realized a third area was needed, she said, so the short stay/outpatient unit was turned into an area for stable patients.

“We essentially had 3 ERs going at the same time to get everyone treated,” Irby said.

The hospital admitted nine patients, two of whom went straight to emergency surgery, and one pa-

tient was admitted to critical care.

Ten patients were transferred to Little Rock hospitals, four of which were children.

Obama thanked the hospital staff for their dedication to the profession, and for helping storm survivors and their families, Irby said.

Irby said the ER staff could not have done what they did that night without the help of the entire hospital.

During a disaster, Irby said, the emergency department initiates its disaster plan, calling every staff member in to the ER. There are approximately 75 members on the ER staff, including 10 physicians, Irby said, but that night, staff members from across the hospital came to the ER’s aid including labor and delivery nurses, surgeons, lab technicians and

CRISIS < 7E

Amanda Irby, Conway Regional Medical Center’s Emergency Department director, was encouraged to take a selfie with President Barack Obama by her 14-year-old son Logan Lamp, an eighth grader at Vilonia Junior High at the time.

TALE from 1E

The INITIAL MOMENTS AFTER...

Images captured by the Log Cabin Democrat the night of the EF-4 tornado that struck Mayflower and Vilonia.

“so we pulled a mattress on top of us.”

With the three of them huddled against a wall, underneath a mattress, everything began crashing around them.

“My dad said the floor was ripped out from under us, but I don’t remember that,” Robertson said.

In a matter of minutes, it was over, and everything was quite.

“All I could see was pink insulation and there was a marble tub from the bathroom on top of us,” Robertson said.

They called 911 and screamed for help. Robertson covered Maddie’s head with a blanket to keep her calm.

“They finally got us out of there,” Robertson said. It seemed like it was forever, she said, but it may only have been about five to ten minutes.

When the Robertsons emerged from their place of refuge they realized their home and their vehicles were gone.

“There are people who are far worse — that have lost their homes, their lives,” Robertson said. “I’m so grateful.”

The Robertsons walked away with a few cuts and bruises, but no serious injuries. Dam Road was one of the hardest hit areas. Robert Oliver, 82, one of the victims of the tornado, lived just down the street.

“It was an act of God,” Robertson said. “Everything can be replaced; we’re happy to all be here.”

4E — Monday, April 27, 2015

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Prevailing Winds

FCSO Comes to aid of rural torNADO VICTIMS

By JOE LAMB LOG CABIN STAFF WRITER

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published May 1, 2014) The Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office made it a goal on Wednesday to respond to the needs of people in places that haven’t had as much attention from the hundreds of volunteers that have been working to start the recovery process.

In the Harrell Loop Road area, at the south end of Lake

Conway, were people who have lost their homes and have been “blocked off from town,” Chief Deputy Matt Rice said.

They were among dozens in the rural neighborhoods and isolated homes in the path of Sunday’s tornado in the unincorporated areas between the towns of Mayflower and Vilonia, where the volunteer efforts haven’t been as quick to respond.

“There are so many people out there in the situation that, even though we’ve got all

these places where they could go get food and supplies and stuff, their cars are strewn about all over the place and torn up and they’re depending on somebody to get to them,” Rice said. “A lot of people are focusing right on Mayflower, right on Vilonia, and we’ve got a lot of people in between that need help too.”

In response, FCSO put out a social media call asking for food and supplies and a way to transport them.

The response included a

U-Haul truck and two truckloads of donated goods delivered to the unincorporated disaster areas on Wednesday.

On top of that, Sheriff Andy Shock said, deputies made about 40 trips delivering as much as they could get in their patrol cars.

Anyone else “that needs anything as far as supplies, or if they need help in certain areas, they can contact us,” Rice said.

Shock said that he’s been having to tell his deputies that

have been on the clock around the clock to go home and rest.

“I’m literally having to say, ‘You go home and get some rest, because this is not going to be a week-long process,’” he said. “I keep having to remind them that this is going to be going on for a long, long time, and they don’t need to burn out.

“All I can say right now about what I’ve seen today is that I absolutely could not be any prouder of our employees with the sheriff ’s office.”

Scenes from the storm Log Cabin Democrat photos

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Prevailing Winds

Scenes from the storm Log Cabin Democrat photos

From top left, clockwise, debris in seen in Mayflower immediately following the April 27 storm; men assess a home’s damage, as a car is buried under the rubble; workers begin the daunting task of clearing downed trees in Mayflower; at left, crews begin cleaning up Lake Conway; below, volunteers examine a vehicle completely obliterated in Vilonia.

Monday, April 27, 2015 — 6E

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Prevailing Winds

The Following Months

a foundation to build on Mayflower, Vilonia tornado victims become new homeowners

By RACHEL PARKER DICKERSON LOG CABIN STAFF WRITER

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was originally published March 21, 2015) “Which pile of debris is mine?”

That was the reaction of Edith Ortiz of Mayflower when she saw the destruction left by the April 2014 tornado. In the past week, however, she and her husband, along with several other families, became owners of new homes, thanks to Habitat for Humanity of Faulkner County.

The nonprofit organization typically builds one home every 18 months for a deserving family that meets various requirements including employment, income, credit check and many hours of labor on the house. For tornado survivors, Habitat simplified the process while keeping requirements the same. As a result, the organization was able to build 12 homes in Vilonia and Mayflower in less than a year.

New homeowners in Mayflower were welcomed to their homes Thursday during a home dedication service that included a ribbon cutting, open house and house blessings.

Ortiz, like most Habitat homeowners, is

a first-time homeowner. She said before the training she received she did not know how credit checks worked. She also learned many helpful guidelines for home maintenance, she said.

John Morris of Vilonia said when he and his wife, Tabitha, found out they could actually afford a home with Habitat for Humanity, it seemed too good to be true. Morris, an Army veteran, works at the VA in Little Rock, and his wife works at a daycare in Vilonia. They have six children at home, one of whom is in a wheelchair.

Morris said, “It took some work, going on weekends, going to programs, learning financing, doing workshops. But it prepared us. We know what At top, Faulkner County Judge Jim Baker to do now. The kids are excit- and Mayflower Mayor Randy Holland weled. I’m ready to get all my stuff come the Fortner family to their new home.

Above, a homeowner shares her joy about her Habitat home.

HABITAT < 7E

CHICAGO BOY’s TOY DRIVE BRINGS HOLIDAY CHEER

By RACHEL PARKER DICKERSON log cabin staff writer

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was originally published Dec. 22, 2014.)

An 11-year-old boy from Chicago gave away more than 2,000 toys on Monday to children affected by the April 2014 tornado.

Samuel Love, accompanied by his father, Victor, and several other family members, brought his annual Toy Give Away to Vilonia this year, where the Church of the Nazarene served as a staging area for toy pick-up and various activities for children enjoying their first week out of school.

The event was hosted by the Interfaith Partners Alliance and the Vilonia Disaster Recovery Alliance and was open to all those affected by the tornado, according to Martha Martin of the VDRA. This is the third year the Love family has collected toys to donate to children going through a difficult situation. Samuel said the first year he decided to collect toys for children affected by Hurricane Sandy in New York.

“I wanted to help someone else other than myself,” he said.

Victor said, “He decided he wanted to have a Christmas party where he collected toys for those kids. In three weeks we collected over 800 toys.”

Last year the family gathered 1,500 toys, and this year the total number came to 2,800, Victor said. He noted Samuel gave away 500 gifts last week in the Englewood community in Chicago. On Monday the group brought 2,100 or 2,200 items to Vilonia, Victor said.

Asked how the family learned about central Arkansas, Victor said Samuel did his own research on the internet as well as talking with some meteorologists about which parts of the country were most in need at Christmas

this year. The EF4 tornado that struck here caught his attention.

Victor added, “This is probably the best year so far, because he was able to come down and actually meet these kids and talk to them about what they went through. The mayor took us around and we toured the devastation.”

Although collecting hundreds of toys can be a lot of work, Victor said he thinks his son’s ongo-

ing project is “awesome.”

Samuel said, “It makes me feel happy knowing I’m helping other kids and that they’re going to have a Christmas and that I’m not just doing things for myself.”

Children at Monday’s event were able to enjoy games, bounce houses, craft tables, lunch and sweets. They also had a chance to meet Santa and Mrs. Claus,

DRIVE < 8E

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Prevailing Winds

Storm recovery slow in Black Oak

By LINDA HICKS LOG CABIN CORRESPONDENT

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published August, 11, 2014) Abandoned vehicles, a twisted motor home, abandoned mobile homes, stacks of dumped tires, a couple of porcelain toilets, downed trees and porta-potties dot the landscape four months later in the tornado-ravaged Black Oak community, located just outside the Vilonia city limits.

“Things are moving pretty slow out here. There are still things to clean up from the 2011 tornado,” said Teriann Shrum, a resident, who jokingly refers to herself as the self-appointed community’s chamber of commerce CEO. “The volunteers that came out did a bang-up job.”

However, there is still a lot more work to do, she added. Some of her neighbors, she said, have “come back three times,” from tornadoes. She lost her roof in the 2011 tornado but she had no damage this year. That tornado caused several of her neighbors to relocate and not return. Four of her neighbors perished as a result of it. The 2014 tornado has resulted in others walking away from their property with no plans to return. Some she knows well; others she just knows their names.

From her vehicle, she points to a pond that was drained. “People’s valuables” were in that pond, she said. She points to a mobile home that sits empty.

It was abandoned in 2011.

“It’s been stripped of the copper wiring,” she said. “It just needs to be drug off somewhere and torn apart. The people that walk away need to be held responsible for what they leave behind.”

It’s getting harder to distinguish the damage from the two tornadoes.

She knows one neighbor who was on vacation and returned to find everything gone.

No sign of rebuilding on that property, Shrum predicts she will not return.

Referring to a downed mobile home, Shrum said the owner had let her insurance lapse just days before the tornado and is living elsewhere with no plans to return.

Driving around the area, Shrum makes note of her neighbors and expresses a relief that “several are coming back. I just didn’t know. But, I can see they are.”

Work was being done on a roof. That house, she said, belongs to a disabled Vietnam veteran. She acknowledges a Hispanic family who was also working on their house.

She also points out stacks of tires located in five or six areas on the side of the roadways.

In two or three areas, tall grass made them barely visible. Her husband has been trying to take care of the tires dumped on their property.

He has seen rats taking residence in and around the piles. For about a month she has been reaching out to anyone who will listen to try to get help with the cleanup.

“I will just keep knocking on doors and making phone calls until I find someone to help,” Shrum said.

In addition to the clean up, stop signs and street signs are down and need to be re-installed. That, she said, has resulted in near accidents.

Shrum opened her storm shelter on the night of the tornado and invited her neighbors to come in.

Twenty-one people arrived.

She believes it saved the lives of at least four families.

She has made calls regarding the installation of tornado sirens on her property. She has learned that it is possible, but it comes with a price tag of $13,000.

She’s pondering on how she can come up with the installation cost.

She also plans to submit a request to the city of Vilonia, asking them to install a siren on Rocky Point Road.

“If they did, we could hear it. We don’t live in the city limits, but we consider Vilonia our city.

“It’s in our back yard. We might have a Conway address, but we are in the Vilonia Township. Vilonia is where most of us out here shop and do our business.”

A resident since 2002, Shrum said, “I just love it out here. What’s not to love? Look at these views from the top of the hills. You can see all the way to Vilonia from here.

“No tornado is going to run me out.”

Salvation army reaching out

By RACHEL PARKER DICKERSON LOG CABIN STAFF WRITER

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published July 11, 2014) Majors David and Joanna Robinson of the Salvation Army have been working tirelessly to get donations into the hands of tornado victims, and they are trying to get the word out about how they can help.

When the April 27 tornado hit, the Salvation Army was on site immediately serving meals for nine days.

David said, “We were in Mayflower the night the tornado hit.

We got into Vilonia the next day. So many people were serving, and food was so abundant, we slowly backed out.”

Since then the Salvation Army has given away thousands of gift cards at different events where agencies gathered in one place to offer a one-stop shop for tornado victims to collect supplies.

The charity is continuing to help by distributing food boxes through its social service office on Harkrider Street.

Now the Salvation Army is working to meet needs that insurance and FEMA funds won’t cover. Families with tornado damage who have a case manager can receive up to $1,500 to help them get back on their feet.

For example, David said, one family needed appliances, and the Salvation Army was able to provide $1,500 toward that expense.

Another family was able to purchase a piece of land and a trailer with FEMA funds, but they needed the land leveled before they could put the trailer on it.

The family got a bid for about $1,500, and the Salvation Army paid for having the ground leveled, he said.

The Robinsons said donors

to tornado relief have been extremely generous, but daily operations donations have dropped off. Checks labeled “tornado” or “disaster” go into a separate fund at the Salvation Army Divisional Headquarters and cannot be touched for the daily operations of the Conway office.

“That’s been the hardest thing, trying to figure out how to pay our light bill. Seeing all these checks coming in and none of them are ours,” David said. “But we want people to know that all the money that came in for the disaster is going to go to the people. We want everyone out there to get back on their feet as soon as possible.”

The Robinsons have been with the Salvation Army for many years and have lived in many places. They served two years as cadets, three years as lieutenants and 12 years as captains.

They were promoted to majors on June 6. They say they love it in Conway.

“We’ve been to so many disasters I can’t remember the dates,” David said. “This is the first place I’ve been to that people take just what they need. You’re trying to offer them so much, and they take exactly what they need.”

He said he has had people ask for as little as three pieces of plywood.

Joanna added, “They’re so grateful for whatever they receive.”

Case management services are being set up for Vilonia, Mayflower and residents of Faulkner County, David said.

The Salvation Army does not do case management.

The charity will work with families who have already seen a case manager.

“They’re all being set up to make sure no one falls through the cracks,” he said.

HABITAT from 6E moved in. This is a real blessing for us. We do thank them. We thank all of them. Above all, God had a big part of it.”

Pat Fortner of Mayflower lost the home her late husband built 30 years before on the street named after him when the tornado hit.

“Thank God I wasn’t at home,” she said. “It came down our street full force and wiped out the whole street. I lost everything I had — home, furnishings, everything. I was devastated for a while. Thank God none of our family was hurt.”

She began the process of getting a new home

A student volunteer helps as part of an Ozark Mission Project and Wesley Foundation initiative during winter break 2015. The team in Mayflower built decks, provided wheelchair ramps, painted and drywalled homes on White City Road. About 60 volunteers in total from eight different colleges were part of the effort.

CRISIS from 3E respiratory therapists.

“The recognition for the staff and the families and the appreciation for the work that’s been done is greatly appreciated,” Irby said. “To have everyone’s efforts applauded, and the outpouring of support — it’s been unbelievable.”

Sen. Mark Pryor’s office coordinated Irby’s meeting with Obama in order for Conway Regional to have representation among first responders who were recognized Wednesday.

through Habitat, and then the other shoe fell.

“Part of the way into the process I found out I had cancer,” she said. “I knew I was going to have an awful lot of problems and probably couldn’t afford a home.

They helped.”

Habitat made sure that Fortner will be able to be in her home, on the same spot her house was on before.

“I think it’s a wonderful thing. They have really helped out a lot of people, and I’m actually very grateful to them. Without them, I’m not sure any of us would have been able to come back home,” she said. “I’m just hoping and praying that I can make my home there again and enjoy it.”

Barbara Mullins of Vilonia is a single mom who works for MEMS. She grew up in Vilonia but moved

Irby’s 14-year-old son Logan Lamp, an eighth grader at Vilonia Junior High, asked his mom if she could get a selfie with Obama if she got the chance during his meeting with first responders.

When all interviews were finished, and the group picture had been taken, Irby asked a favor of the President.

“I said, ‘I have a 14-year-old at the school where you landed who wants me to get a selfie with you.”

By the look on Obama’s face, he must have been more than happy to accommodate Irby’s request.

away for a while and had moved back just in time to be hit by the 2011 tornado. After recovering from that, she returned to Vilonia again just in time to be hit by the 2014 tornado.

“I just happened to be at home when it happened, so I wasn’t able to get out and do my job. I hated that I couldn’t get out and do what I normally do,” she said.

After renting for many years, she said becoming a homeowner will be worth all the work she has put into it.

“I’m excited about it. It’s going to be very much worth the wait. It’s been work — the paperwork, the classes, the mandatory things we do. It’s all been worth it. It’s definitely a very good program to be dealing with.”

8E — Monday, April 27, 2015

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Prevailing Winds

Christmas comes early for mayflower elementary

By BRANDON RIDDLE LOG CABIN DEMOCRAT

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published Oct. 14, 2014) Nearly six months later, donations are still pouring in for victims of the April 27 tornado outbreak in Mayflower, though Tuesday’s gift was the largest for Mayflower Elementary School.

The generosity of a nonprofit organization brought smiles to the faces of about 426 elementary school students, who were given school supplies through the Kids In Need Foundation at Mayflower Elementary School on Tuesday. At 1:30 p.m., K-4 students gathered in the school’s lunch room to await a surprise presentation that they had been hearing about at school.

Kids In Need, a non-profit organization founded in 1995 that provides free school supplies to students in need areas, has donated more than $550 million in school supplies since its founding, benefiting more than 3.6 million students across the U.S. The April 27 tornado outbreak produced an EF4 tornado that destroyed and severely damaged a large portion of the city’s infrastructure. Mayflower Elementary School Principal Candie Watts provided students and faculty at Mayflower with a reflection on that moment before backpacks were handed out.

“I want to take us back about six months ago,” Watts said to the students. “On April 27, 2014, we had something pretty horrific, pretty scary that happened to our community.”

The students in the audience acknowledged that day, some even saying “tornado” as she continued.Concluding her comments, Watts said the Mayflower Eagles are flying high again and continue to recover and rebuild.

After the backpack presentation, Watts said the timing of the tornado made the need for school supplies less urgent until the upcoming fall. With the 2014-15 school year underway, she said the supplies will be a necessity for students to replenish existing supplies in the largely low-income district.

“When the tornado happened at the end of the year last year, we weren’t really thinking how the kids would still be impacted at the start of the school year and we’re already a high poverty area with a lot of need,” she said. “With us having, just within this building, 26 of our students’ homes destroyed and 67 affected, that was the last thing on parents’ minds.”

Dave Smith, executive director of the Kids in Need Foundation, spoke to the students after her statements and announced the surprise gift. Following the event, he spoke on how his organization got involved in helping Mayflower Elementary School.

Of days like the Mayflower donation, Smith said the events are the “best part of the job.”

“The kids are always so appreciative and it always amazes me the smiles and the joy from getting basic school supplies,” he said. “It really demonstrates the need is there for them.”

Kids in Need reached out to several schools across the nation impacted by tornadoes in April, including Nebraska and Wisconsin.

A Target employee hands out backpacks to students at Mayflower Elementary School during an assembly.

Smith said Mayflower “was the most responsive of all.”

“We often say that there’s a whole lot of things to think about when disaster strikes and schools supplies is usually not at the top of anyone’s list,” Smith said.

Christin Prater, a 4th grade teacher at May-

Backpacks with school supplies were provided in partnership with the National Sponsor of the Second Responder program, 3M and a Target grant.

Representatives from the Target store in Conway, including store manager Shaun Edwards, were on stage during the event, helping hand out the backpacks to students as they lined up in rows by grade and class.

“We’ve supported both Vilonia and Mayflower and we’ll be doing more for Vilonia. Something similar to this as well,” he said. “But this is one where the time is right. We have a couple of teachers that work at Target that are also teachers at Mayflower.”

One of Target’s next goals to help tornado victims is reaching out to the Vilonia School District and its rebuilding efforts. The district was directly impacted as a result of the tornado, with its Vilonia Intermediate School still under construction at the time.

“We’re actually partnering with Vilonia right now to talk more about how we can help rebuild some schools,” Edwards said, referencing the destroyed school.

Sixty Target team members from across the state, including those from Conway, donated about 210 hours of community service to help with the cleanup and rebuilding efforts in central Arkansas.

Melissa Philibert, director of the Second Responder program, said 60 backpacks were initially sent to Mayflower following the tornado.

The 432 backpacks donated Tuesday, extras included, were valued at $25 each and equate to about a $10,800 donation.

‘When the tornado happened at the end of the year last year, we weren’t really thinking how the kids would still be impacted at the start of the school year and we’re already a high poverty area with a lot of need’ — Candie Watts

flower Elementary School, said the event still has an impact on students who were either directly or indirectly impacted in the area, especially in stormy weather.

She said the donations bring a sense of joy back into their lives and show that the community is supportive of the Mayflower community.

One of Prater’s students, 4th grader Nikki Victory, said her family was directly impacted and that the backpack replaces one she lost in the tornado.

“It makes me feel happy,” she said of the backpack donation.

2014 Graduates true definition of ‘vilonia strong’

By LINDA HICKS VILONIA CORRESPONDENT

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published May 17, 2014) The 2014 Vilonia High School graduating class is the “true definition of Vilonia strong,” said graduate speaker Jessica Stanley, Saturday morning, addressing her peers and a packed audience filling the stands at Farris Hall on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas.

“This is a class that has proven time and time again that we are the true definition of Vilonia strong,” she said. She spoke briefly about the “hard times.” Some of the graduates faced injuries in their senior year and others dealt with illnesses. There were sleepless nights and days of endurance, she said, with two tornadoes in three years — both devastating the community.

DRIVE from 6E therapy dogs and see a fire truck from the Vilonia Fire Department.

Each one also left with a toy appropriate for their

“Our class did not crumble,” she said. Instead, the class had the maturity to extend a helping hand to others. “We worked side by side,” and persevered, she said. The class also learned how “truly precious life is and how lives can be changed in a moment,” she added.

Kelly Glover, also a graduate speaker, received a round of applause when he told his peers “we’re done — we’re through — we’re finished.” On a serious note, he followed up with “we are done with high school but we are not done with learning.”

The average person, he said, lives just short of 80 years. Most of you, he said, addressing the graduates, have lived 18 years.

“A lot of us have 60 or more years,” he said, to live and learn.

All 209 graduates wore the traditional red caps and gowns. This year’s format was a little different than in the past. A handful of baseball and softball

players walked on stage first followed by the other graduates who walked in alphabetically order. Diplomas in hand, the team players were off to play in the Class 5A State Tournament Games.

Andy Ashley, high school principal, served as the announcer for the two hour event with help from assistant principal Ronnie Simmons. Each student’s name was read as they marched on stage. Diplomas were presented by Jerry Roberts, president of the Vilonia School District’s Board of Education, who has been battling a life-threatening illness for several years. On the board for 25 years, Roberts hasn’t missed a graduation. Other board members were also on hand as well as many school officials.

In concluding the ceremony, Ashley announced that 41 of the students graduated with honors.

Scholarships, he said, for the graduating class to-

age and gender.

Martin said once the VDRA and IFPA found out the Toy Give Away was coming, they had to work fast to put Monday’s event together.

Needs were met, though, thanks to plenty of

donations from the community, she said.

“We made calls to all our churches and businesses, and everything started pouring in,” she said. “We couldn’t have done it without our volunteers.”

GRADUATES < 11E

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Prevailing Winds

REMEMBERING 2014 ‘...My heart immediately was thinking of the children that would be terrified... ’

By JENNIFER FREEMAN SPECIAL TO THE LOG CABIN

Area residents survey damage in Vilonia following the EF-4 tornado in this Log Cabin Democrat file photo.

‘I took four steps inside and was immediately dazzled by what I saw’

By ANNETTE GREENLAND SPECIAL TO THE LOG CABIN

The gray sky was dripping rain, Sunday afternoon, as I drove down to Highway 64 from the ridge above Vilonia. It was my usual route from Schultz Road to the post office, library and pharmacy, so I was accustomed to what I saw as I traveled on Goff and Simpson streets — plenty of remnants of tornado devastation but also much evidence of recovery.

Highway traffic was minimal, so I reached my destination easily which was the new worship center located on the Vilonia United Methodist Church property. I was there for the open house. My only visits to the building, over several years, had been to look for bargains at the church’s annual rummage sales, so my mental picture as I stepped under a portico and opened the back door was of tables piled high with donated goods.

I took four steps inside and was immediately dazzled by what I saw. There was a twostory-tall, gleaming white, spotless sanctuary including a raised platform across the eastern wall with plenty of space for the pulpit, communion table, musical instruments, and other items used in worship and celebration as well as rows of connected, comfortable, padded chairs with pockets on their backs and holders underneath for hymnals and Bibles.

My near view was just as bright — a hearty greeting and handshake from Pastor

As a teacher, life experiences become a teachable moment or an opportunity to connect with students. Some teachers will connect with students in a way that impacts that student forever, and some students will never be forgotten by their teachers. I remember the class that was in my classroom when I learned about 9/11 and I will never forget hearing on the morning news that one of my former students, Kacie Woody, was missing or the atmosphere that settled on Greenbrier Middle School for days and weeks after her death. Natural disasters in Arkansas, particularly tornadoes, are another way to connect with students because everyone has a reaction or emotion to share following a crisis.

The evening of the April 2014 tornado followed a normal day, where we worked around the house trying to get ready for another workweek, until Darrel got a call from the Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office that all officers needed to get dressed and head out to help as the tornado neared the county. The weather reports had everyone on alert for a rough night, and I was both grateful that my husband would be heading out to help the community and terrified that something would happen at our home with our children and he would not be with us.

Mayflower and Vilonia were hit hard, and my heart immediately was thinking of the children that would be terrified and the families who would have to pick up the pieces after Mother Nature ripped their world upside down. I knew that the average tornado was on the ground for less than a mile and that this tornado ripped up our county for 41 miles and had winds ranging from 166-200 mph. I listened to stories of survivors and stories about those who did not sur-

FREEMAN < 10E

GREENLAND < 10E Cleanup and property evaluation gets underway in Mayflower in this Log Cabin file photo.

‘...The community automatically started helping each other...’

By SHARON HOLLAND SPECIAL TO THE LOG CABIN

The photo at left was taken with my phone as we stood in the storm cellar right before we closed the door.

This is on Clinton/Otto Road. I live on 937 Otto Road, and when we came out of the cellar. I just knew we didn’t have a home or cars left.

[Our home] was OK but all around us people lost everything.

This picture is right after it hit the Game and Fish [building]. It came right over the cellar and kept going down to Black Oak and Vilonia.

It was just before dark but when we came out of cellar it was pitch dark from the storm and the community automatically started helping each other with chainsaws, backhoes and anything else they could use.

10E — Monday, April 27, 2015

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Prevailing Winds

ROAD TO RECOVERY

All is not lost Anne and Bob Mann stand in front of their new home in Vilonia following the devastating 2014 tornado.

By RACHEL PARKER DICKERSON LOG CABIN STAFF WRITER

(Editor’s note: This story originally appeared as a featured home story in the Log Cabin’s WINC magazine.) fter losing their home in the April 2014 tornado, Anne Mann of Vilonia and her husband, Bob, and their 17-year-old twins, Connor and Chloe Porter, moved into a new home at the end of October.

“We finally feel settled,” Mann said. “We got to have Thanksgiving and Christmas here, so we’re excited.”

The family lived in their previous home for five and a half years before the EF-4 tornado wiped out nearly their entire neighborhood — about 50 homes, she said.

Mann recalled the events of the evening.

Her husband was at work far from Vilonia.

Her children were safe in Conway. She was home alone and had the weather on in the background while attending to other tasks.

Friends and family members began to call and text, asking if she was aware of how the weather was shaping up. She started to take shelter in the home, but her husband called and insisted she go to the shelter at the high school.

“I had only been there about three minutes when someone said (the tornado) was across the street,” she said.

When the storm was over, she heard it had hit her neighborhood. She drove as close to the area as she could, and then she

A

FREEMAN from 9E vive. I imagined how I would feel if this were my hometown and if I had lost my own family and friends, and I hoped my students were all safe. I also knew that my lesson in class for the next day would include a chance for students to talk about natural disasters in Arkansas and ways to help those who were affected. I was proud of the empathy my students felt toward these communities, and will not forget the discussions or the silence of respect as we drove through Mayflower a few days later for a field trip and witnessed the damage. Seventh

GREENLAND from 9E Nathan Kilbourne, who, I later learned, had arrived just a few months before the tornado hit, and welcoming smiles and words from several women of the church.

I looked at the roomy rooms on both floors of the classroom wing. They were neatly equipped to hold Sunday school classes for children, youth and adults.

A nursery displayed color-

and all her neighbors were out of their vehicles, moving debris, trying to get in.

“I got down there, and you couldn’t see a rooftop. I thought, ‘Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Are there really no rooftops?’

It looked like a bomb went off. There was nothing left.”

Following the devastation, the family moved into a rental house where they planned and built their new home with the expertise of Shane Hobbs Construction.

The brick home has a Craftsman look with natural cedar shutters and columns, a sturdy wooden front door with a multiplepaned window, and three-pane windows throughout the home.

Stacked stone is used at the base of the columns and inside in the living room, where it reaches from floor to ceiling around the gas fireplace. The mantel has an antique finish, which matches the kitchen cabinets that remind Mann of the ones in her former kitchen.

“I told my husband, ‘I have to have my antique cabinets back,’” she said. Oilrubbed bronze cabinet pulls in the kitchen coordinate with various other types of fixtures throughout the home. The kitchen backsplash tiles are alternating thin strips of glass, ceramic and chrome.

“We were really happy with the way it turned out,” Mann said.

She was also excited to get granite countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms — an upgrade from their previous home. The floors are hardwood (a deep brown called

Monte Cristo) in the common areas, 18inch tile in wet areas and carpet in the bedrooms. A cozy brown called Portabella covers most of the walls other than the bathrooms, which are painted in a comforting blue called Refuge.

Among the local vendors used in the construction process were Ridout, DeBoard Electronics, Southern Pipe and Plumbing, and Spivey Painting.

Mann was pleased to report they added an inground storm shelter to their new home. The family also had a nice surprise in all the excitement of rebuilding. Without anyone realizing it, the family who lived across the street in Anne Mann their old neighborhood built a new home across the street in their new neighborhood.

She concluded, “We love it. We’re happy to be settled.”

‘I got down there, and you couldn’t see a rooftop. I thought, ‘Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Are there really no rooftops?’ It looked like a bomb went off. There was nothing left.’

—

graders are not usually silent on a bus.

I will be reminded of this day at least twice a year, as I discuss natural disasters in Arkansas with my class; I will remind my students that this tornado could have happened in Greenbrier just as easily as our neighboring communities. We look at pictures and statistics and share stories from that day in April and we compare this date to other tornadoes that have impacted our state. We share what we remember from that particular day, and I am reminded that I am so lucky to have these students here with me to remember.

ful furnishings and toys. Two people were on duty in a sound booth which extended off one end of the full-width balcony.

A dozen or so women, meeting around a table in one room, were so engrossed in their topic of discussion that they didn’t notice a tourist wandering by.

Rain still drizzled as I drove home, but my spirits had lifted over the past hour. My visit to VUMC had been an excellent way to spend a Sunday afternoon in Vilonia.

‘Arkansas Strong’ volunteers help tornado victims sort through debris and find memorable possessions.

Monday, April 27, 2015 — 11E

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Prevailing Winds

A handwritten sign on a roof near Lake Conway exemplifies the faith of the people of Faulkner County, even in the wake of tragedy.

FAITH OF OUR MOTHERS

THROUGH LOSS THERE IS STRENGTH

By LINDA HICKS Vilonia Correspondent

The April 27, 2014 tornado left behind a path of destruction and a tremendous amount of emotional distress and pain for those who lost loved ones. However, two mothers April Smith and Pamela Wassom say they are anchored deep in their faith as they live on.

“There’s a difference in despair and pain, and the difference is Christ,” Smith said. “I trust God. He is good and his plan—it is good.”

Smith is the mother of the youngest two victims Cameron, 8, and Tyler, 7, of Vilonia. Wassom is the mother of Master Sgt. Dan “Bud” Wassom who lived in Parkwood Meadows one of the hardest hit Vilonia neighborhoods. He died while shielding his five year old daughter Lorelai.

Both Smith and Wassom said an hour doesn’t pass when they don’t think about their sons.

“God is so gentle with me and my grief,” Smith said. “My walk with God is the only way I have gotten through this.”

She and her husband, Daniel, have moved back to Vilonia. They have resumed their business. They are building a house. She is currently teaching a deaf ministry and writing a book. She has written for the Vilonia Eagle.

She travels and serves as a speaker sharing her faith while talking about the loss of her sons. She is also starting a blog. Having some of her family members move close to her, she said, has helped. She spends a lot of time with her nephews but she still longs for her sons every day.

“I have learned so much during this,” she said. “All I can do is give back. Of course, I have my good days and my bad ones but I have been shown a lot of love—amazing love. “ Although, she said, she may become emotional when doing it, Wassom said she likes

GRADUATES from 8E taled about $2.2 million.

Ashley also thanked many in attendance for their service including Dr. Frank Mitchell who has been the school district’s superintendent for 28 years. Mitchell will be retiring in June.

“I thank you. Vilonia thanks you,” Ashley said.

After the ceremony, some of the new graduates shared bits and pieces regarding their trying year.

The caps and gowns of seven graduates were destroyed by the tornado. School officials were able to get them replaced in time for the ceremony.

One senior Savannah Riddle was hospitalized as a result of the April 27, tornado. A smile on her face and her diploma in her hand, she said, she felt blessed to be at the ceremony and to have her family with her. She is one of the seniors that lost her cap and gown as well as the rest of her possessions two weeks ago. “We were able to find my FFA jacket,” she said.

talking about her son and keeping his memory alive. She and her husband, Dan Sr., miss the way things were.

"Bud was one of those kids who would always give me a hug and kiss whenever we said hello or goodbye," Pam said, smiling at the thought. "Even in high school, when it's not cool to give your mom a kiss, that never bothered him. He always showed me great affection. I miss that."

Dan Sr. misses sharing their passion for cars -- especially Ford model vehicles. She said she knew he was a wonderful son and father but that she has learned so much more, than she knew, about his character since his death.

“He had so many friends,” she said. “I can honestly tell you I don't know anybody who disliked that boy because he was such a good person.”

They also miss the family dinners. Since his death, her daughter-in-law, Suzanne, and two granddaughters Lorelai and Sydney, have moved out of Arkansas and she doesn’t see them as much as she would like to see them.

“I understand why she had to move but I miss them so much,” Wassom said.

The family has attended several events in “Bud’s” honor including a ceremony at Little Rock Air Force where a street section was named after him and three medals were presented to the family. Wassom was a member of the Arkansas Air National Guard’s 189th Airlift Wing.

Also, Suzanne Wassom has donated the lot in Parkwood Meadows, where her husband lost his life and where the family’s house stood before the tornado, to the city of Vilonia. The donated land is to be used for a playground with some type of memorial to her husband.

Both families are dreading April 27. The Wassom family said they will attend a private service with family and Daniel’s friends. The Smith family aren’t sure what they will do yet.

Her father, Shawn, her mother, Melissa, and her two younger brothers Clayton and Brock, and her boyfriend Bradley Jenkins, were all huddled together with her in their house when the tornado hit. She and her boyfriend had just arrived there from attending church.

“There were no walls left standing,” she said, sharing her memories of a horrific night. “I felt the floor lift up under us. I remember flying up in the air and something hitting me in the head.”

All were left covered with debris and had injuries. She watched as her father dug her mother out of the debris. Savannah spent the night in the hospital. A large gash on her back, it required stitches. As well, her brother had stitches. Her dad suffered a broken hand. Her mother was also hospitalized for several days with a broken pelvis.

She attended the graduation in a wheelchair.

“I’m just happy all of my family is here,” she said. “It could be so much different.”

They plan to speak at some events leading up to the anniversary.

Also, April said tentative plans have been made for April 27, but they may change closer to date. Some days, she said, turn out to be different that she plans in advance with her emotions.

Victims include: Cameron Smith, 8, Vilonia Tyler Smith, 7, Vilonia Jamye Collins, 50, Vilonia Dennis Lavergne, 52, Vilonia Glenna Lavergne, 53, Vilonia David Mallory, 57, Vilonia Daniel Wassom, 31, Vilonia Jeffrey Hunter, 22, Vilonia Paula Blakemore, 55, of El Paso Cameron and Tyler Smith were students at Vilonia Primary School.

Jeffrey R. Hunter, 22, was a senior at UCA and worked part time at Fred's in Vilonia.

Dennis Troy and Glenna Sue Pickett Lavergne of Vilonia, were married in November 1982. They moved to the Vilonia area in 1998 and were active members of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. They lived on Cemetery Street.

David Charles Mallory, age 58, of Vilonia moved to Arkansas in 1974 to work with Mallory Construction. He was an excellent framer and trim carpenter by trade. He loved antique automobiles, NASCAR racing, and the outdoors.

Jamye D. Collins, 50, of Vilonia, was an avid Razorback fan and loved spending time with her friends. She was employed with SAS Shoe Factory for more than 20 years. She was a member of Landmark Missionary Baptist Church in Vilonia where she served as church clerk, taught Sunday School and worked in the youth program.

Paula Blakemore, 55, of El Paso, Arkansas, was an architectural designer who loved her job.

In Memoriam Paula Blakemore, 55, El Paso Mark Bradley, 51, Mayflower Jamye Collins, 50, Vilonia Helen Greer, 72, Mayflower Jeffrey Hunter, 22, Vilonia Dennis Lavergne, 52, Vilonia Glenna Lavergne, 53, Vilonia David Mallory, 58, Vilonia Robert Oliver, 82, Mayflower Cameron Smith, 8, Vilonia Tyler Smith, 7, Vilonia Rob Tittle, Paron Rebekah Tittle, 14, Paron Tori Tittle, 20, Paron Daniel Wassom, 31, Vilonia

12E — Monday, April 27, 2015

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Prevailing Winds

A twist to the story ...

This May 14, 1957 copy of the Log Cabin Democrat, which is the newspaper of record for the tornado that roared through Conway on May 13 of that year, was found near Batesville, Ark., in traveling debris after the 2014 Faulkner County tornado.

‘At the still point of the turning world.’

—

T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets, Burnt Norton