July 3, 2018
This Week's Shout Out
This week’s shout-out goes to the team in the Greenwood County Office of K-State Research and Extension – Lindsay Shorter, Jayne Whitson and Debi Lewis.
On Tuesday evening, June 26, an EF-3 tornado hit Eureka, the county seat of Greenwood County. (Eureka also happens to be my home town). The tornado was on the ground for two miles – diagonally from the southwest corner to the northeast corner of town. There are varying reports, but it’s estimated there was damage to 100 city blocks. It was also reported that at least 78 homes suffered severe damage and 10 homes were destroyed. Ironically the town experienced a tornado less than two years ago on July 7, 2016.
As with the last tornado, the local KSRE staff has played a key role in the disaster response. Along with numerous other volunteers and community organizations they have been involved in meal preparation and delivery to the storm victims, the hundreds of volunteers assisting with the cleanup as well as law enforcement and emergency management staff.
This past weekend they participated in a multi-agency fair designed to help connect residents' needs with the appropriate resources.
Local Extension board members joined in an effort that the Extension office staff initiated to get tarps for roofs as another storm threatened the area late in the week. Telephone calls and trips to hardware stores in neighboring towns resulted in tarps delivered and installed.
As with any disaster response, the work is not done and undoubtedly the Greenwood County team will continue be a community partner in the on-going disaster recovery.