Of the people, By the people, For the people
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LK Appleby
TUESDAY, March 7, 2017 / Vol. 3 Issue 10 / 75 cents
Power lines were down across the county, including these in Fairfield Bay. About 15,000 lost power Wednesday morning. (Photo by Fairfield Bay Emergency Medical Services)
Furious winds whip through county By Anita Tucker/ Voice Editor
A few minutes of wind left damage and darkness throughout Van Buren County early Wednesday morning. It was about 2:30 a.m. when Mother Nature unleashed her fury, flinging trees through houses, uprooting huge oaks that had stood for hundreds of years, and crumpling roofs like they were tin cans. And then it was over. Later that morning the sun was shining and birds were singing; it was as if Mother Nature was sending a beautiful apology for her earlier behavior. The next three days followed suit as clean-up efforts progressed.
People agreed on two things: They had never heard the wind sound like it did that morning, not the train-like sound so often used to describe tornadoes, but a sustained whistling, howling sound. And, everyone said it was amazing, maybe even a miracle, that nobody was injured – “Not so much as a cut finger,” said County Judge Roger Hooper incredulously. But there was enough damage and debris to keep volunteers, workers and home owners busy. County and city officials gathered Thursday morning to share the numbers: 81 homes damaged or destroyed (later revised to 95 homes), 57 of those in Fairfield Bay, the hardest
hit area, 20 in Clinton and the rest sprinkled throughout the county; more than 80 power poles down and up to 15,000 without power. Hooper said it looked like the monetary damage would not be high enough for the storm to be declared a federal disaster, only a state disaster, which covers 35 percent of damages. They will gather again this week to report final numbers. In the meantime, Petit Jean, with help from crews across the state, has restored power wherever it can be restored. And the debris clean-up will continue for days and weeks to come. More photos Pages 6-7
Ninety-five homes in Van Buren County were damaged or destroyed, including this one on Barojia Street in Clinton. (Photo by Lt. Eric Koonce/Clinton Police Department)
Petit Jean Electric reported that by Saturday evening power had been restored everywhere it could be. Some home owners will have to make repairs before power can be turned back on.
This house on Highway 65 South in Clinton was built after the 2008 tornado destroyed the home on this property.
(Photo by Robert Snyder)
(Photo by Jeff Stansbery)
Blue Devils in State finals
The Shirley Blue Devils will play in the Class 1A State Tournament championship game this weekend.
The Shirley Blue Devils senior boys’ basketball team will square off against the Guy-Perkins Thunderbirds next Saturday in the State Tournament Class 1A championship game. The game is scheduled to begin at 4:15 p.m. Saturday, March 11, at the Hot Springs Convention Center. Shirley defeated the Izard County Cougars in a neutral playoff game Saturday, March 4, to make it in to the fi-
nals. The final score was Shirley 53, Izard County 49. The match-up against Guy will be the third for Shirley this season. The Blue Devils won the first game back in October, but the Thunderbirds took the last two games, most recently on Feb. 24 when Guy won by 3 points. The Blue Devils are 34-10 on the season, the Thunderbirds are 36-4. Shirley has seven seniors on the team this season.