MONDAY, APRIL 15 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2019 STUDENT MEDIA
‘A big loss for this small community’
Jesse Everett — THE BATTALION
Left: Shedrick Darnell, a 30 year resident of Franklin, stands near his mother’s “Wall of Faith” while surveying the damage of his family’s home following the tornado. Top: Frederick Darnell hoists an American flag above the wreckage of his home. Bottom: Connie and Victor Henry look for valuables and keepsakes in the rubble of their home.
After tornado tears through town, Franklin residents come together to begin rebuilding homes and lives By Jordan Burnham @RJordanBurnham Ten crosses still hang on the wall of Shedrick Darnell’s home, which now has no roof or windows. This is just one of over 50 houses that were destroyed, leaving piles of wood and sheetrock scattered across the south side of Franklin. Saturday afternoon, a tornado ripped through the entire width of Robertson county and left the town devastated in its wake. With a population of a little over 1,500, the county seat
located 40 minutes outside of College Station found itself in the direct path of an EF3 tornado. One church and 55 residential homes were destroyed, and 4,000 across the county were left without electricity. Connie and Victor Henry moved to Franklin after their house in Hearne was destroyed by a water leak. Connie, who was in her home as the tornado tore through the brick building, said everything happened quickly, yet felt like it lasted forever. “In an hour and 45 minutes, my life changed from what we call normal to disaster,” Connie Henry said. Born and raised in Franklin, William Kirven was at home with his puppy when his power cut out and the wind started to howl. Kirven said he quickly went to the bathroom to seek
safety. “And as I’m holding the door shut, I see light behind me,” Kirven said. “The whole back side of the house flipped off to the front, so I came out of the bathroom and there was a piece of sheetrock just laying over, like a piece of the wall had fallen, but it was high enough so I could get under and ball up until it passed over me and I got up and ran to my sister’s house.” Though many of Kirven’s friends and family have also been affected by the storm, he said he is thankful that no one was seriously injured. Kirven plans to rebuild the home he and his mother share. “Even different communities, they’ve all come together,” Kirven said. “Everybody is alive, that’s the main thing.” FRANKLIN ON PG. 2
Long journey home An unpredictable, international Aggie Ring Day story 73 years in the making By Hollis Mills @ sillohsllim On its golden surface, the Aggie Ring is a testament to the pursuit of a higher education. But underneath resides a story only the ring bearer can tell. For Jonas Lossner, that story began 73 years before he placed Aggie gold on his finger. This Ring Day, the mechatronics senior celebrated the acceptance of his Aggie Ring surrounded by family and former students at the Miramont Country Club in Bryan. This intimate setting away from campus was chosen to ring in Jonas’ achievement and reminisce on a contribution the Lossner family made to
Aggieland before they had even known of it. In the winter of 1944, outside of Kommerscheidt, Germany, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest was waged for over 140 days and nights, injuring or claiming the lives of 33,000 American GIs. Among the fallen was Medal of Honor recipient Turney Leonard, class of 1942, whose remains were recovered in 1949, though his Aggie Ring was not. This is because three years prior, 15-year-old Alfred Hutmacher, Jonas’ grandfather, discovered Leonard’s ring while assisting American forces in relocating the graves of fallen soldiers. Intrigued yet unaware of its importance, Hutmacher placed Leonard’s ring in a shoebox, where it sat for over 50 years before being returned to the university by Jonas’ father, German Lt. Volker Lossner. Upon the ring’s RING DAY ON PG.2
Meredith Seaver — THE BATTALION
Mechatronics senior Jonas Lossner shows off his new Aggie ring to his brother Sebastian, Class of 2016, and his parents.
Pouncing on the Tigers No. 12 A&M earns series win over Auburn with explosive fourth inning By Caroline Gooding @goodasitgets19
Kaylee Cogbill — THE BATTALION
The Aggies defeated the Tigers 4-1 Sunday afternoon. Texas A&M will play the University of Houston Cougars on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
No. 12 Texas A&M baseball defeated No. 19 Auburn 4-1 on Sunday to take the series win 2-1. The win is a meaningful one for the Aggies, helping to get them back on track after struggling in the previous two SEC series matchups. The Aggies and Tigers both started off the day slow. In the first and second innings, dominant fielding by the Aggies brought an end to both innings with no runs scored and no runners left on base for Auburn. Auburn matched this performance after sti-
fling the Aggie offense from earning an early lead during their at bats. In the third, the Tigers managed to gain some traction with a single by freshman infielder Ryan Bliss to start the inning. The single was shortly followed by a single to deep left field to send Bliss, who had made it to third off A&M errors, back to home plate, putting the Tigers up 1-0. Shutout in the third, the Aggies entered the fourth inning looking for a momentum swing. A single by junior outfielder Cam Blake was a promising start for a stagnant A&M offense, which only recorded two hits in the previous three innings. Junior shortstop Braden Shewmake, who holds a .327 team high batting average, followed this with a single to deep BASEBALL ON PG. 2