a year after the nov. 17, 2013, tornadoes - Bitly

A YEAR AFTER THE NOV. 17, 2013, TORNADOES

STRENGTH SHINES THROUGH Sunday, Nov. 30, 2014

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Devastation unfolds............................ H3-5 Q & A with Mayor Manier.................... H6-9 Remembering those who died .......H10-11 They saw it coming.........................H12-13 Pekin recovers.................................H14-15 Then & Now ....................................H16-17 East Peoria hit by same tornado ...........H18 Creating new memories in Roanoke.....H19 Peoria police, firefighters provide aid ...H19 What happened to Georgetown?....H20-21 A staggering recovery...........................H22 Tornado hasn’t stopped Washington ....H23 Insurance unable to cover all losses......H23 State Farm plays big role in relief..........H24 Salvaging lost items .............................H25 Churches step up...................................H26 Volunteers flood area............................H27 Children heal at own pace ....................H28 Many survivors still struggling mentally..H28 Building safe rooms .............................H29 Disaster supply kits ...............................H30 After the storm, glorious sunsets..........H31

ABOUT THE COVER: Journal Star Opinion Editor Mike Bailey took this photograph in the days following Nov. 17, 2013. Bailey’s home in Washington was damaged, but not destroyed by the tornado. On Page H31, Bailey recalls the beautiful sunsets he saw in his neighborhood in the days, weeks and months after the storm.

AT RIGHT: Kirk Roberts of Washington took this picture at the entrance of Ace Hardware on Route 8 approximately 200 yards away as an EF-4 tornado tears apart Georgetown Commons Luxury Apartments in the background. Roberts’ wife had called him to tell him not to come home with their boys from a scout meeting as she stayed safely in the family basement. The picture gained additional infamy as Lynn Cummins, who runs Cummins Family Restaurant, the white building in the photo, shared Roberts’ story and the picture with people directly affected by the tornado. Photo used with permission. PHOTO COURTESY KIRK ROBERTS

H2 SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2014

JOURNAL STAR, PEORIA, ILL.

Devastation unfolds

Beautiful morning brought perfect conditions for tornadoes BY PHIL LUCIANO of the Journal Star

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he morning brought beautiful spring weather. The sun sparkled brightly, pushing the Sunday breakfast temperature into the 60s. The air felt moist and fresh. Joggers filled the streets, and homeowners tended to their yards before many hustled to church. But there was a problem with the spring weather: It wasn’t spring. In mid-November at that time of day, the temperature should be about 40 degrees. That humid air of Nov. 17, 2013, kept warming and rising, colliding with an incoming rush of cold air, triggering a thundercloud in southeastern Peoria County. This was no mere matter of lightning and thunder. Strong winds from the south and west had been bearing down on one another for days, slamming together at the thundercloud, spinning it terrifically. For days, meteorologists had warned of possible funnel clouds across 10 states — especially Illinois, especially central Illinois. Despite the sunny morning, Nov. 17 would bring unprecedented devastation. Two twisters slugged Pekin, East Peoria and rural Roanoke and threw a near-knockout blow at Washington. Residents reeled, staggering from basements to find shredded husks of homes, or nothing at all.

billowing in cold air at about 3,000 feet. The warm air rose into the cold front, triggering a thundercloud near Mapleton. And the wind kept rushing in from the south The previous weekend, meteorologists saw trouble and west. brewing. The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Science cannot yet explain why some thunderclouds Center pegged 53 million people in 10 states “at significant shake off surrounding wind, while others spin into funnel risk for thunderstorms and tornadoes.” clouds. But on Nov. 17, swirling winds made the thunTornadoes can touch down any time. But thunderderhead dance and twirl, sprouting a funnel cloud that storms, let alone tornadoes, are rare here that late in the year. Heat from the sun is usually insufficient to create the started to stretch toward the earth. At 10:52 a.m., 1.25 miles northwest of Pekin on the west kind of unstable conditions — a cold front meeting rising side of the Illinois River, the first of the storm’s four tornaair — needed to trigger a thunderstorm. And a tornado does touched down near Mapleton. Churning northeast, can’t develop without a thundercloud. the twister jumped the river and banged down again, at Yet in the days before Nov. 17, unusually strong winds 10:54 a.m., near Illinois routes 98 and 29, north of Pekin. from the south kept pushing heat and moisture from the The Enhanced Fujita Scale starts at EF-0, indicating Gulf of Mexico, according to the National Weather Service 3-second wind gusts of 65 to 85 mph, and tops out at EF-5, office in Lincoln. Those low-level winds were consistent, which boasts wind speeds exceeding 200 mph. The Pekin driving up temperatures 20 degrees higher than normal. Please see DEVASTATION Page H5 Meanwhile, a strong jet stream from the west had been


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FRED ZWICKY/ JOURNAL STAR

The path of destruction can be seen from the air on Nov. 18, 2013, one day after a tornado ripped through Washington, ultimately killing three people, injuring dozens more and decimating hundreds of homes.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2014 H3

11.17.2013

TRACKING THE STORM



Helping hands Fire departments and ambulance agencies from across central Illinois rushed to aid Washington in the aftermath of the Nov. 17, 2013, tornado. This list was compiled by the Washington Fire Department to show how much outside help the city received.

Rescuers help an injured Bob Smith out of the rubble of his home after an EF-4 tornado hit Gillman Avenue on Nov. 17, 2013, in Washington. Smith, his wife and his son were trying to make their way to the basement when the tornado leveled the house. DAVID ZALAZNIK/JOURNAL STAR

DEVASTATION Continued from Page H3 tornado was classified as an EF-2, spinning at an estimated 110 to 135 mph. At 100 yards wide, the tornado — from its start in Peoria County to its terminus north of Pekin — lasted 2.5 miles. Damage was extensive. But the Pekin stop was just a warmup run for a marathon of destruction.

these tornadoes were EF-2s, near Coal City and Manhattan. Afterward, the spent storm no longer had sufficient energy to sprout funnel clouds.

The time was 12:48 p.m. Central Illinois slowly began to understand the massive scope of ruin-

ation and rubble. Yet casualties seemed restrained. That day, fewer than 100 victims had to be treated at hospitals, with just 20 admitted. Pekin’s hardest-hit area was near Sheridan Road and Eighth Street. In East Peoria, the path cut from Pinecrest Drive and East Muller Road, going north over Interstate 474, hitting Springfield Road the ❑ ❑ ❑ Only 2 percent of tornadoes are EF-4, with winds hardest. Woodford County saw damage, as well. That same afternoon, chain saws and tree of 165 to 200 mph. But EF-4s cause 75 percent of all trimmers buzzed in Pekin, East Peoria and rural tornado-related damage. In that regard, the second Roanoke. Recovery had begun. tornado offered a horrible illustration. But in shocked Washington, few people thought At 10:59 a.m., twister No. 2 hit 2.4 miles southabout hand tools. They were thinking about bulleast of East Peoria. It was not only spinning much dozers. faster than the Pekin tornado — 170 to 190 mph ❑ ❑ ❑ — but at times stretched a half-mile across, nine times wider than its Pekin sibling. In and around the Devonshire area, block after It whacked the eastern edge of East Peoria, then block of houses had been pulverized. The landcontinued northwest, straight toward the residenscape looked like a landfill, a tangle of uprooted tial heart of Washington. After chewing through trees, ruptured gas lines, downed power lines, plus house after house, the tornado slid into the farmwayward toilets, sinks, carpet, shingles, grills, lawn land of Woodford County, tearing through 20 miles furniture and just about anything else under the of farmland but finding no villages. It petered out sun. Everything was sprinkled with shards and two miles east of Long Point, in LaSalle County, at crumbs of glass, like grotesque confetti, blown and 11:47 a.m. shattered everywhere. All told, the second tornado covered 46.2 That night, firefighters with the 182nd Illinois miles, an unusually long distance. But the storm Air National Guard searched buildings for anyone brimmed with two more tantrums. Like Pekin’s, trapped. All clear.


Meanwhile, Ameren shut off gas lines as authorities shut down the city. Out of safety concerns, no one would be let into the destroyed areas. Washington, like Pekin, instituted a nighttime curfew. Police patrolled Washington’s empty streets, debris everywhere, the only sound coming from the constant, echoing eerie beeps from smoke alarms. When the sun rose on Monday, Washington looked worse than expected. The previous night’s fear was the loss of 400 homes; the new count was an astounding 1,000-plus. Tazewell and Woodford counties would be among 13 to be declared a state disaster area. As recovery began in stunned earnestness, residents in Joliet found household items blown from central Illinois, 100 miles away. Crossroads United Methodist Church in Washington, which began receiving donations 20 minutes after the tornado hit, set out cots and food. Other victims fled to hotels or the homes of friends and neighbors. By week’s end, residents and relief organizations were taking baby steps in putting central Illinois back together. Donations of money, wares and time began pouring in. A year later, the recovery continues. Phil Luciano is a Journal Star columnist. He can be reached at [email protected], facebook.com/philluciano or 686-3155. Follow him on Twitter @LucianoPhil.

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Washington Mayor Gary Manier surveys the new home construction on Devonshire Road after last year’s tornado left the neighborhood in ruins. RON JOHNSON/JOURNAL STAR



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‘We were all in it together’ JOURNAL STAR, PEORIA, ILL.

ince the Nov. 17, 2013, storm, Gary Manier might have become the face of Washington. Long before that, Manier might have wanted to become the voice of the Chicago Bears. The Washington mayor’s desire to become a radio sports voice faded once he joined Caterpillar Inc. 40 years ago. But his desire for public service grew. He spent eight years on the Washington Community High School Board. For the past 13 years, he’s been mayor of one of downstate Illinois’ fastestgrowing cities. Then the tornado hit, and since Manier has tried to be a calming influence for a city in turmoil. A year later, Journal Star reporter Nick Vlahos joined Manier in his cozy City Hall office for a 90minute discussion. It touched on his pre-tornado life, post-tornado actions and a Republican mayor’s endorsement of Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn for re-election. Manier greeted Vlahos warmly on a crisp, early Friday evening in October. The mayor was preparing to attend a Washington Panthers football game. He was clad in orange and black, the school colors. What follows is an edited transcript of their conversation. Have you always been interested in civic life? When I was in high school, I joked that I’d be the mayor of Washington someday. I served on the School Board for eight years prior to this. It was one of those jokes you make in high school, then you get reminded of it when you actually run. I graduated in 1972. Ed Habecker was the mayor. He was one of those guys that was just cool on cool. He dressed well, conducted himself, handled himself well. I thought, “Man, if I could become mayor and be half of what he was, that would be pretty special.” I always looked up to him.

What was the thing that appealed to you about public service? I want everybody to like me. And I learned on the School Board, that doesn’t happen. And I learned even more as the mayor that that doesn’t happen. Because friends who thought

Gary Manier ◗ Age: 60 ◗ Residence: Washington ◗ Family: Wife, Lada; daughter Brooke and sonin-law Kyle Wisher; son Chase; three grandchildren ◗ Employer: Caterpillar Inc. (41 years) ◗ Public service: Washington Community High School board, 1993-2001; Washington mayor, 2001present ◗ Quote: “I think it’s OK to compromise (politically). There’s got to be some give-and-take in this world. If it’s not going to affect the bottom line as far as the taxpayer is concerned, I’m willing to budge a little bit. What’s wrong with that?”

we were best friends, some of the decisions you make, they don’t agree with, and we don’t know how good of friends they were.

So you went to college? I went to Illinois Central College. I did not get an associate’s degree. I was going to be a sports announcer. I’m a sports nut. I’m a Cardinals fan. I’m a Bears fan. I really had not been much of a hockey fan, but the way the Blackhawks have treated Washington, Ill., I’m a huge Blackhawks fan. (Former Blackhawks player and coach) Denis Savard came down. He gave me his jersey, autographed.

What happened to sports announcing? It’s the Caterpillar paycheck. I started there in 1973. I was working in the kitchen. I was scrubbing pots and pans part time in East

Please see MANIER, Page H8


MANIER

I said, “I don’t care. They’ve got to get back in.” The Illinois Emergency Management Agency and state troopers were there. They say, “Mayor, there’s downed power lines,” and they went through the whole thing with me. And I just lost it. I started crying. To think I wanted to put those folks at risk over saying that I was in charge.

Continued from Page H7

Peoria. Then I went to the shop for four months, and then I went to the office, and I’m still there after 40 years. You start making money and you forget about schooling, you forget about trying to be an announcer.

What is your position with Cat?

It’s almost like you’re watching a movie about your town and you’re not part of it. What kind of a sensation was that?

I’m called an engineering 3 rep with Global Dealer Solution Network. We troubleshoot product world-wide. We try to solve about 35 percent of the problem at our level. We send the other 65 percent to the design engineer that created the product to get it back up and running, because that yellow iron doesn’t do well if it’s sitting.

How have the interactions in that job served you as mayor?

I’ve been in customer service almost my whole 40 years at Caterpillar. What Caterpillar focuses on is that you take care of the customer. It’s not necessarily trying to win them over, it’s to make sure they buy you again. At whatever cost, take care of the customer. The word of mouth in some of those industries is all it takes. I was fortunate to be born to great parents. They taught me the Golden Rule: Treat people the way you want to be treated. I think that helped when the tornado hit. Because of the relationships I was able to build, not just with our citizens but with surrounding communities and other municipalities and counties.

What was the thing you learned the most in your experience on the School Board? It’s amazing, because one week I received 11 phone calls — concerns. So I learned early on that for parents who have kids in that high school, that’s the most important four years of their life. I probably received more phone calls about a teacher’s grade, a basketball coach or a softball coach not playing their kid, my daughter or my son’s better, they should be playing so-and-so, can you fire the football coach, my kid got wrongly accused, discipline things. I learned that people really care and are more engaged in that, sometimes more than they are with the city. High school is more emoH8 SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2014


Washington Mayor Gary Manier embraces Gov. Pat Quinn as Quinn arrives to announce $45 million in Illinois-funded state relief for local governments recovering from the November 2013 tornadoes on March 5 outside of Tractor Supply Co. in Washington. tional from a parent’s standpoint than anything else I’ve dealt with on City Council, at least before the tornado.

Why run for mayor? Don Gronewold, who had served for 12 years, was going to retire. And I don’t know if it was that little moment that I had in high school where I thought about running. I remember calling a friend and saying, “Hey, I think I’m going to run for mayor.” He says, “What do you know about City Council?” I say, “Nothing.” And he says, “Why do you want to do it?” I say, “I think it’s time to make a difference.” My mom and dad were still alive. Thanksgiving dinner was at my house. They were great Democrats. Before we sat down to dinner, I say, “I think I’m going to run for mayor.” My dad says, “What party?” I say, “I’m running as a Republican.” He says, “Are we going to eat or not?” He never said any more about it. And then, of course, I ran and was successful.

What were you doing last Nov. 17?

I was at church. My wife had stayed home. Her sister from Tucson, Ariz., was living with us. They were going to cook out. I was an elder that day. I didn’t get any kind of alert on my cellphone, no warning. But the fire siren just sounded different that morning. I got to church about 10, 10:15, 74 degrees, beautiful blue sky. But it was just weird. It was different. When the siren went off, I asked people to go to the basement in an orderly manner. Most of the time you hear those in central Illinois and you think, “Another tornado warning, it’ll never hit here.” That’s your mindset. We went to the basement, the lights went out. Now it’s pushing 11 o’clock and I get a text message from (the police chief) that said, “Heavy damage on Chrisendale Lane.” When somebody says heavy damage, I’m thinking limbs in the street, trees down. But it hit me differently. I went to Georgetown Common Apartments, where they were bringing the injured out on wheeled desk chairs. About the third person I helped load into a pickup truck had

It was emotional. I ended up hugging camera guys the next few days. Anybody I could get a hold of to just find some support from people. I was struggling with the fact that there was only one death. That Mr. Steven Neubauer was the only loss of life that first day. Because I walked through the debris, and I was thinking, “There’s no way. There’s got to be somebody trapped.” It was just hard for me to believe. It’s a God thing. It really is. And one’s too many. I can’t imagine going on (after) losing someone in a storm.

If it wasn’t necessarily to command this, that and the other thing, a crushed right ankle. It said “Peoria what did you see your role being? Police” on the guy who was helping him. I said, “What are you doing here?” He said, “Mayor, it’s bad.” First thing I thought was, “How do you know I’m the mayor?” And he says, “Have you looked?” I’m still just focused on what we’re doing. He said, “Look over there.” I could see everything was gone. I probably wasn’t a very good mayor that first hour and a half, because I was wandering around aimlessly. There was no cellphone service. I finally got a call from my son in New York City, clear as a bell, and he says, “Are you guys OK?” I said, “I don’t know about your mom or sister. Call your sister.” That’s how we communicated so I could find out if my family was OK. I got to the police station, and I was so ready to take charge. I wanted to tell everybody what to do, because I thought that’s what my responsibility was supposed to be. And I started saying, “I want my residents back in, because now they’re keeping people out from a safety standpoint.” We had gas leaks, we had downed power lines.

I think to be the best cheerleader, to be positive and let people know that everybody was here to help us. And the other thing is to make sure we got the residents back in as quickly as we could once we secured all the downed power lines and the gas lines and things that were spewing.

Was that the most frustrating part? People wanting to get back into their homes but couldn’t? If I lost my house, I think that would have been the hardest thing. But to think how patient they were. And that third day, when I was able to walk through and hold people and hug them and talk to them, to a person, they would look me in the eye and say, “Mayor, it’s just stuff. If money can buy it, it can be replaced.” I didn’t think I would receive those kind of comments from our residents that were digging through their life memories. But what a thing to say. It’s stuff.

You’ve got the Blackhawks doing things. You’ve got the Bears doing


things. You’ve got all this attention from all over the country. How do you deal with that, and did it ever get to the point where you say, “I appreciate all these people coming in, but if one more sports team wants to call me … ”?

I think it was day one or day two, I said, “Everybody loves Washington today. But who’s going to be here six months, nine months from now, when we still need help?” I think those people who have the means to draw attention to the needs, I think you have to give them the opportunity. Because they can keep the story alive. Not one to sound out of line here, but you’re one devastation away from losing all this volunteer help. If there was a tornado or a flood between here and Chicago since Nov. 17, I’m not so sure we’d have all these groups showing up on our doorstep every weekend to help. It’s not that you’re taking advantage of a bad situation, because they don’t come down for publicity. I think hopefully not only did we show Chicago but the country what we’re made of. Being faith-based and how resilient we are in the rebuilding process.

sound bite.” I didn’t know it was going to be a commercial with me. I didn’t dream of that. But I’d made a commitment and said yes. It wasn’t an endorsement for me to necessarily say, “Hey, get out and vote for him.”

How much push back have you gotten locally from the Quinn endorsement? I’ve gotten some backlash. I won’t name them, but most of the Republicans I’ve heard from understand and have told me I did the right thing. I haven’t really heard anything negative from any of the elected officials I’m friends with.

You’ve been all over the media, not only in Peoria, but all over the country and all over the state. What’s that been like?

I’ve tried to do my best to keep everyone informed. Some people have said, “You’ve become the face of Washington.” I’m OK with that. I don’t want to be the focal point, yet I want to make sure people continue to keep the story alive. Let people know you still need RON JOHNSON/JOURNAL STAR help. Let people know it’s not over in a year. Washington Mayor Gary Manier surveys the damage along Gillman Avenue in I’ve tried to be open. I don’t turn too many Washington as he toured the devastated area with offi cials from FEMA and IEMA interviews down. It’s not the fun part of it, How has this affected you and your family? because you interview with somebody for 10 after the Nov. 17 storm. You have so many ups and downs and so or 15 minutes and you get a 15-second sound many feel-good days. But then there’s those bite on the evening news. I just want to make days you feel like you’re not doing anything, tion days left, because I’ve used most of them. sure it’s covered properly and people are How easy or diffi cult was it for you to enor what you’re doing may be a mistake. I’ve In our type of government, you’ve got a city honest and they’re not looking for some other dorse Gov. Quinn? told people, “We’ve made mistakes. The administrator, and he’s the CEO. If you have story within a story. And I haven’t found that mayor, our city staff. But they’re not intenI was a Dan Rutherford guy. Dan and I have to be true in anyone I’ve talked to. We’ve got tional.” Everything we’re doing has a purpose. a good one, and Tim Gleason has been very been friends for quite a while. I was support- some very good journalism folks in the region. And I know as long as I serve, I’m going to try good, the right people in the right chair when ing Dan. I really thought he had a legitimate to make the best decisions for every resident. this thing happened. You’ve got to empower Your term is up in 2017. What are you going your people and your department heads. This shot of beating Quinn because he had a stateto do for the rest of your term? wide election he won as treasurer. Had Dan What has been the most difficult aspect of is our first tornado. It’s a lot to ask city staff. been the nominee for the Republican Party, the reconstruction? I want to recover. I had some ambitions for You don’t add people. You can’t extend your I would not have done the endorsement, some property the city bought prior to the I think when you get to the point of, “When city budget because of what happened. But tornado. We have some ideas for it. We want to you’re asking people to deal with the tornado obviously. And I didn’t hear from Bruce do you send those (ordinance violation) letRauner. I’ve never met him. But I don’t think create some tax revenue. We have some very aspect of recovery, but we still have a city to ters out?” Some people thought we should people realize how much time and effort the unique ideas for it to bring in some sales tax run. Nothing else stopped. have done it in the spring, but people were governor gave us with his staff. The FEMA dollars and create some green space. It’s 223 still in the middle of it. Just coming off a harsh Is that the biggest thing you’ve learned, how denial, Quinn promised on the 18th, the day I acres, and I was really eager to go to work on winter. Not just the snow but the extreme cold close those relationships are? was in the car with him, when he handed the that. But now is not the time for the mayor of temperatures. Was 10 months long enough to When you don’t lose your house, I went president to me on his phone. The president the city of Washington to be talking about nice wait? In some eyes, probably not. But we still through that fi rst guilt thing. Th e Th ursday said, “We’re going to do everything we can things to have. We need to recover first. So the heard from a lot of people that thanked us for for you, the federal government.” I believed next 2½ years, the No. 1 focus is to rebuild this doing it, and we heard from some people that community meeting we had at the high it. But Gov. Quinn said if FEMA doesn’t come community. The other thing is to keep up with thought we should have never done it. When school, I said at the podium that I feel guilty through, the state will be here for you. aging infrastructure, roads, water and sewer. I walk away from this job, I’m going to know I I have a house to go to. No power, but I get to go to a home with a roof. Some lady came And then sometime in the next 2½ years, we did the best I could for every resident, regardDid you have a relationship with the goverup to me and said, “Mayor, don’t say that can focus back on that property and create less of where they lived in town or what their nor before? anymore, because God spared your house for something that won’t necessarily be for Washstatus was. I’m going to make sure people I’d never met him before. The 18th of a reason.” It was like the weight of the world ington but for the region, the entire Peoria area. look back and say, “He treated everybody went off of me. I gave her a hug. I still thought November was the first time I’d ever met him. fairly.” Have you given any thought beyond 2017? They probably could have used enough film it, but I never said it anymore. I still think it How difficult has it been to do all this know- today. It’s not that I wish we would have had from the interviews and things when I thanked If I do anything, it’s going to be running for him. But they asked me if I’d do an interview office again as the mayor. I’m not interested ing you’re a part-time mayor? some damage, but I wanted to make sure and if they could possibly use it for a commer- in doing anything else. I’m going to have to they knew that I felt for them. I can’t put Caterpillar was very gracious to me for cial. Now, when they said they’re going to use weigh where we’re at from a recovery stand2½, three months early on. They’ve still been myself in your position, and I’ll never say, “I it for a commercial, I’m thinking, “One little point. I think we’ll be in good shape. understanding. I’ve got only a couple of vaca- know how you’re feeling.” JOURNAL STAR, PEORIA, ILL.


TING SHEN/JOURNAL STAR

Washington community members gather in July to light lanterns in memory of those who lost their lives during the Nov.17 storm. H10 SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2014


REMEMBERING THOSE WHO DIED

STEVE NEUBAUER

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teve Neubauer, an avid snowmobiler, would often take a long weekend with the guys and head to Wisconsin or Michigan for a good time. Neubauer, 51, was killed November of last year when a massive tornado leveled large parts of Washington. He is survived by Beth, his wife of 25 years. Neubauer was on his way down to the basement when the power of the EF-4 tornado stopped him. The couple had no children, but Beth said Steve loved his nephews and nieces as if they were his own. “They would come over and play with toy tractors, and Steve would go buy some for them so they could have something when they came over,” she said. That fit with Neubauer’s career as an operator and mechanic at Otto Baum. He maintained and operated Baum’s heavy equipment, such as dozers, excavators and scrapers. For the past year, Beth has had to cope with the aftermath of the storm. It destroyed their home, wrecked their 27-foot cabin cruiser to the point where she sold it rather than deal with the repairs, and she’s had to deal with the loss of her husband. The two were adventurous, active in their boat club and loved to be outdoors, though Beth joked, she wasn’t thrilled with the cold weather. “He was an animal lover,” she said, adding that Neubauer didn’t hunt. Rather he’d like to ride on his snowmobile to look at deer and other animals. Last summer, Beth bought a camper and brought it to her boat club. “I would sometimes stay there the weekend or go out boating with some friends. They have been wonderful and so have all the other people in other boat clubs,” she said. A family friend is in the process of making a memorial to put near a tree at her new house in Morton. Friends at work made her something for her deck as well. She has family for support. Some are coming in from Iowa this month to mark the one-year anniversary of Steve’s death. “I am sure that I am going to the cemetery, but I am going to meet with some of his friends from Baum’s on that Saturday and bring up good memories and stories about Steve,” she said. JOURNAL STAR, PEORIA, ILL.

CHARLES KOONCE

T

ina Murray went to her parents’ house last November to check on them as the weather looked threatening. Instead of a quick visit, she wound up experiencing the Nov. 17, 2013, tornado that ravaged Washington as she and her father, Charles Koonce, were thrown 25 feet in the air. Her mother, Cathern, was buried under the rubble of the house. Within minutes, neighbors helped dig out her mother. One neighbor was a doctor and he assessed Charles and Cathern. Both needed to be taken to a hospital and were placed on a mattress in the back of a van. Charles, 84, suffered a broken leg and collar bone as well as having trauma to his kidneys. A diabetic, he needed five pints of blood. Murray’s mother was released the next day but chose to stay with her husband, who was released in December to a nursing home where he was undergoing therapy. Things appeared to be looking up as the couple would go out to eat and celebrated Cathern’s birthday on Jan. 1. However, the next day, Charles complained of not feeling well and his oxygen levels were low. He was lethargic much of the day and died that night due largely to his injuries from the storm. Nearly a year later, Murray’s mother is getting ready to move back into the rebuilt home at 1904 English Oak but without her beloved husband. Murray, 53, said the past year has been tough. There was Father’s Day and Charles’ birthday that obviously weren’t the same. One of the grandchildren was married this year and chose to wear the Shriners’ belt buckle of his grandfather as a tribute. He raised his shirt so Cathern could see. “She started crying. That brought back a lot of memories,” said Murray, who was injured from flying glass and debris during the storm. “I am working three jobs so I am keeping busy with that,” she said. Charles Koonce served in the Army and raised bees at his home of 50 years before he moved into a condo on English Oak. He worked as a plumber and was a “workaholic,” Murray said. “At their old house, we would spend our weekends going over there to help with the garden and the fruit trees. He would plant all this stuff and then give it away. That’s the type of man he was, he’d give the shirt off his back for people.”

MUNDA ALLISON

M

unda Allison was a “sweet” lady who had a zest for learning and a zeal for life. Rosamund “Munda” Law Allison, 82, of 221 Elgin Ave., died on Nov. 29, nearly two weeks after the Nov. 17, 2013, tornado that ripped through her Washington neighborhood. She was lying in her home on a couch when the storm came in and “pulled her through the window. The couch was never recovered and she was found in the debris,” said her son, Bill Allison, of Crete. Her back was broken in two places, and she was in the later stages of Alzheimer’s disease. “It’s just terrible for someone to go the way she did,” he said. “In a way, her dying was a blessing. She would not have wanted to see her house gone. It was the only place that she felt really comfortable after the disease had advanced.” Munda Allison was an avid bridge player, having the “Who’s Who” of Washington playing in her weekly bridge club, her son said. “She always had it every Tuesday night until the Alzheimer’s got the best of her and she couldn’t count the cards or follow the tricks anymore.” Munda grew up in West Virginia and graduated with honors from Duke University. She had two children and was married to Ray Allison for 61 years. Attempts to reach Ray Allison, who has since remarried, were unsuccessful. A former teacher for Central School District 51, Munda had been retired for a number of years. She enjoyed tending to her yard, said one neighbor. “I would always learn something from her,” the woman said recently. “I saw her out one day watering a tree and she had two big black tubes running along side. She said those were for the water to get down to the roots. She was just such a nice lady. It’s really a shame.” Munda loved history and enjoyed the time her husband, Ray, was transferred by Caterpillar Inc. to Glasgow, Scotland, for three years in the 1960s. “When we lived in Scotland, she was in charge of the ladies and the welcoming committees so she would schedule tours of the castles and other historical sites,” said William Allison. “There was just so much to see, and she loved it.”

STORIES BY ANDY KRAVETZ OF THE JOURNAL STAR


Nov. 15

Nov. 16

Nov. 17

They saw it coming Days before the tornadoes hit, meteorologists with the National Weather Service saw the storm take shape

W H12 SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2014

BY LAURA NIGHTENGALE of the Journal Star

hile the violent tornado outbreak of Nov. 17, 2013, was unprecedented in what’s usually a quiet month for cyclones, the disaster was predicted by weather experts in the days before. Warning coordination meteoroloNov. 17 gist Chris Miller with the National Weather Service in Lincoln said the storm shows how quickly dangerous weather can develop and how important heeding warnings can be in life-threatening situations. Here is how Miller and a team of meteorologists tracked the weather systems that would combine and produce an EF-4 tornado that tore through Tazewell County and decimated parts of Washington.


NOV. 14, 2013

Three days before the storm The NWS in Lincoln uses computer projections to predict extremely strong thunderstorms for Sunday, Nov. 17, expected primarily during the afternoon.

NOV. 15, 2013

Two days before the storm

WHEN WE ISSUE AN OUTLOOK SAYING THERE IS A 30PERCENT “ LIKELIHOOD THAT A TORNADO IS GOING TO EMERGE WITHIN 30 MILES OF A POINT, THAT’S ABOUT AS HIGH AS YOU CAN GET ON THE SCALE AS FAR AS CONFIDENCE IS CONCERNED THAT A THUNDERSTORM IS GOING TO PRODUCE A TORNADO. IN THE LAST 25 YEARS I’VE SEEN IT HIGHER ONLY ONCE.”

Chris Miller, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Lincoln

Meteorologists tracking the fronts and wind patterns moving across the nation discuss the possibility that the severe thunderstorms they predicted would produce tornadoes. “We put all that together, and we could see that this was a situation that was going to be potentially explosive that we had never seen before in the month of November,“ Miller said.

NOV. 16, 2013

One day before the storm a cold front is taking shape in the plains and moving east toward Illinois. Warm and humid air moving up from the South indicates that storms will be strong and severe. An area encompassing Peoria south to Beardstown and east to the Indiana border is at risk, pinpointing the Illinois River Valley at highest risk for severe weather and tornadoes. “As a result,” Miller said. “We had a conference call with our local emergency managers and media partners and mentioned to them that we really need to push the word out that tomorrow, Sunday, this is going to be a major severe weather outbreak.”

NOV. 17, 2013

“Every day at 5 a.m. in Lincoln we do a weather balloon launch. When we did that one we saw what the atmosphere was showing, and it told us thunderstorms were just going to explode,” Miller said. The NWS issues an outlook early Sunday morning that puts central Illinois in the highest category of risk for tornadoes. “When we issue an outlook saying there is a 30-percent likelihood that a tornado is going to emerge within 30 miles of a point, that’s about as high as you can get on the scale as far as confidence is concerned that a thunderstorm is going to produce a tornado,” Miller said. “In the last 25 years I’ve seen it higher only once.” A tornado watch is issued at 8:40 a.m., unusually early considering most tornadoes tend to occur in the late afternoon and evening, Miller said. The watch issued on Nov. 17 was what’s called a particularly dangerous situation tornado watch, implying tornadoes were expected to be long track, or on the ground for more than 10 miles. The NWS expected up to 12 tornadoes in the 35-county region including central and eastern Illinois. By 10 a.m. storms erupted west of the Illinois River. Stormspotters in Fulton County reported large hail, high winds and heavy rain. Between 10:30 and 10:45 a.m., stormspotters report seeing rotation in clouds. A tornado warning was issued at 10:49 a.m. Minutes later a tornado touched down near Pekin. By the end of the day 25 tornadoes touched down throughout the state. Laura Nightengale can be reached at 686-3181 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @lauranight. JOURNAL STAR, PEORIA, ILL.


Pekin recovers

FRED ZWICKY/JOURNAL STAR

In shock after a tornado destroyed his home at 1609 N. Fourth St. in Pekin, Ray Baughman embraces his wife, Deanna, amid the wreckage of their home. Earlier, just as their cell phone sounded an alert saying ‘Take Cover,’ the tornado hit their home. Ray said, “We were running to the end of the house as it was tearing off the roof of the house. It was like it was going to suck us up … then it let go. It let go.” H14 SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2014



BY SHARON WOODS HARRIS Of the Pekin Daily Times

P

ekin is making steady strides in its recovery from the Nov. 17, 2013, tornado. The EF-2 tornado damaged 163 houses in Pekin. There were no deaths or severe injuries. The damaged area included the lower part of Sheridan Road, Truman Drive, Coolidge Avenue, Eisenhower Drive, Crescent Avenue, Delshire Avenue, Lakeside Avenue, North Fourth Street and Capitol Street. The city did not charge residents for permits associated with tornado damage. Permits costs are billed at $3 per every $1,000 of property value, said Ron Sieh, code enforcement officer. The city has not


kept a running tab on the total value of the homes for which the permits were issued. Sieh’s assistant, Juanita Vanbuskirk, said homeowners are still coming in at a steady pace for permits as insurance claims are settled. Sieh said six homes had to be demolished and are being rebuilt. Two homeowners have waited nearly a year for their insurance companies to pay for the damage. Three houses were demolished and not rebuilt. Two of the lots have been sold, and the third is on the market. The American Red Cross provided assistance to 2,841 people in Tazewell County. There were 2,634 health and mental health services provided and four shelters with 157 overnight stays. There were 47,563 meals and snacks served and 25,594 bulk items such as tarps, shovels, clean-up kits and totes provided, according to Erin Miller, regional communications director. Pekin City Manager Darin Girdler said

the city has received all of the funds due it from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. The agency paid the city $84,044. The city also received an additional $15,811 from the state Motor Fuel Tax Fund for the replacement of stop signs, directional signs and street name signs that were damaged by the tornado. The city was not eligible for FEMA aid because the damage total did not meet the agency’s criteria. Girdler said the city has evaluated its performance in the days and weeks following the disaster to see what improvements could be made. “One thing we want to work on is contracting with emergency responders for things like tree trimming and hauling,” said Girdler. “(The companies) were not on standby just for us.” Sharon Woods Harris can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her at twitter.com/sharrispekin

One year later has brought many changes for the Baughman family after they were caught in the Nov. 17 tornado. While their house was razed and rebuilt anew, Deanna, left, Ray and their daughter, Nikki, 15, all say they have been changed. Deanna, speaking of her husband Ray’s effort to get them to the basement said, “In all honesty, He saved me and my daughter’s life.” Though they failed to get to the basement, they were away from the center of the house as debris, including a giant tree, landed in their now roofless house. Ray, noting the support the family received, said, “We all knew each other before. But now, we’re a close neighborhood. It really brought us close.” For Nikki, they now have two stairways down to the basement, one just outside her bedroom. Deanna said, “She wanted a pole, but we didn’t think that was a good idea with teenagers.”


THEN H16 SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2014

The Washington subdivision containing Devonshire and Hampton Roads was among the hardest hit by the EF-4 tornado that took three lives, left many injured and destroyed or damaged more than 1,100 homes. This photo was taken one day after the tornado hit. PHOTOGRAPHS BY FRED ZWICKY OF THE JOURNAL STAR

& NOW

A year later, a dramatic transformation has converted debris and rubble back into a functioning neighborhood as new homes are built in the Washington subdivision containing Devonshire and Hampton roads. This photo was taken on Nov. 14, 2014.

A GALLERY OF MORE NOW & THEN PHOTOS CAN BE FOUND AT BLOGS.PJSTAR.COM/EYE


‘We got hit more than most folks thought’ East Peoria was struck by same tornado that caused widespread damage in Washington East Peoria resident Jessie Auen looks into his brother’s damaged house near Bloomington Road in East Peoria after a tornado hit on Nov. 17, 2013.

BY SCOTT HILYARD of the Journal Star

A

larmed by the darkened skies, the persistent low roar of the gathering winds and the increased intensity of the chatter on his police scanner, the mayor jumped into his car and turned toward his city’s developing disaster. No, not that mayor. It was Dave Mingus, the mayor of East Peoria. “I made my way over to Rustic (Avenue), and it was totally gone,” Mingus said, recalling the morning of Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013. “Power lines down. The strong smell of gas. It was eerily silent. People were coming out and coming together with hugs and tears obviously just so happy to be alive. We got hit more than most folks thought.” The EF-4 tornado that tore a gash through subdivisions in neighboring Washington just after 11 a.m. on Nov. 17, collected its strength in the skies above East Peoria. The EF-2- and EF-3-strength tornado that rolled through the city before leveling huge chunks of Washington caused substantial damage in East Peoria. “I understand the tornado ‘bounced’ around East Peoria because of the ravines and the fact it was just getting strength at that point,” said Tom Brimberry, administrator of East Peoria. “So


JUSTIN WAN/ JOURNAL STAR

Adding up 11.17.2013

3

Houses destroyed by the Nov. 17 tornado that East Peoria is going through the legal process to get demolished. Houses that sustained damage ranging from roofs to garages, to trees down. Houses designated as a total loss.

175

on Rustic (where the mayor was) I recall about three houses were destroyed, and another six that had repairable damage. Other areas hit were similar — a few destroyed and a few more damaged. The tornado cut a swath through East Peoria as it crossed over Cole Hollow Road and then a lot of farmland before crossing over Interstate-474. It damaged homes on Harris Road and Stoneman and Maria streets, passed across more open land, and then hit the Rustic Road neighborhood. It increased in intensity over the Farmdale Recreation Area, as it bore down on Washington.

“An East Peoria police officer saw the tornado as he sat in his squad car on Muller Road,” Mingus said. “He said he felt his car lift off the ground as it passed.” In total, 175 homes in East Peoria sustained damage that ranged from roofs, to garages to trees down; 34 homes were designated as uninhabitable and a total loss. “There was nothing I could really do but be supportive,” Mayor Mingus said. “One asked me if I could help him get a crane because his garage roof had collapsed and trapped a van and a boat inside. I didn’t know how to find a crane, but a woman got

on her phone and started texting people and in 45 minutes there were enough people to help lift the roof off of the vehicles.” Mingus said that was one small example of an entire community’s generosity and compassion on full display. “There was a real spiritual aspect of the recovery process that was just monumental,” Mingus said. “Our region has a strong sense of faith, family and community that is really beyond words.”

34

Scott Hilyard can be reached at 686-3244 or by email at [email protected]. Follow @scotthilyard on Twitter.


Peoria police, fire departments provide aid long after tornado BY NICK VLAHOS of the Journal Star

DARIA SOKOLOVA JOURNAL STAR

A pile of debris left from last year’s tornado still sits in a lot owned by Ron and Linda Veatch in Roanoke.

Creating new memories Tornado destroyed Roanoke farmhouse where couple had lived 43 years

built a new house with insurance proceeds, but their yard remains strewn with mangled household pieces, splintered wood and broken machinery. “People wonder why it takes so long,” Linda said about the ongoBY DARIA SOKOLOVA ing cleanup. “You have to sort of the Journal Star through whatever is out there that might still be good. You just can’t inda Veatch looked outside and saw a dark funnel cloud pile it all up and throw it away.” After the storm they had nothspinning toward her house. ing to drive, nowhere to live and Terrified, she grabbed her grandnothing to eat. But what they had daughter and rushed to the basewas support of the community, ment with her husband, Ron. family and friends who helped Two minutes later on that Nov. them to get through. 17, 2013, morning, the Veatches “For about three weeks or four emerged to see leaning walls surweeks after the tornado, neighrounded by their scattered possesbors were just here, they just sions — all that was left from their didn’t leave,” Linda said. “They County Road farmhouse on an would come and help and stay, 80-acre plot where they had lived and the church brought in food for 43 years. and a lot of neighbors brought in Ron lost most of his farming food. It was great.” equipment along with the scrapOn Oct. 22, 2014, Linda and ers and bulldozers he used for his Ron moved into their new home. construction business. Neatly furnished and decorated, A year later, the Veatches have it sits right next to their shed and

L



5 $157,043

The number of parcels that had buildings demolished in Roanoke Township. Average equalized assessed value for those buildings.

Linda’s renovated cake shop. But Linda said she still felt anxious moving to a new place after living in a temporary house. “It’s a beautiful home and everything, but it’s still not the home we’ve always had,” she said about the 2,100-square-foot house. “There are a lot of memories there with our own kids and grandkids, and now we have to start new ones.” Daria Sokolova can be reached at 686-3194 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @DariaSokolova77

Lisa Snow is a Peoria Police Department captain, but the tornado that struck Washington last November hit home. “It was very surreal, just seeing my hometown get just dissipated,” Snow said about her arrival, with Peoria colleagues, shortly after the tornado. “We were able to get into some of the worst areas, and I didn’t recognize them,” she said. “I was standing there confused about where I’m at. I didn’t see any of the houses of the kids I grew up with. I was in and out of those houses all these years, and they were gone.” Snow’s parents, who still reside in Washington, were fine. But Peoria police and firefighters helped those Washingtonians who weren’t. Peoria Police established a mobile command post and assisted with traffic and crowd control, Snow said. The Peorians also coordinated other departments that responded Roughly the number of to Washington’s call for help. Peoria firefighters deployed Georgetown Commons to Washington and Roanoke the Luxury Apartments, which the day the tornado struck. tornado devastated, was the The number of hours initial primary focus of Peoria Peoria police worked fire and police. Also imporin Washington. tant was trying to streamline Radios the Illinois communication among other Emergency Management emergency responders, which Agency provided to help various used different radio channels. “Communication is terrible emergency-responding groups communicate with each other. during these situations,” Peoria Fire Chief Kent Tomblin said. “Never have I been at a huge event where communication isn’t the No. 1 problem.” It was resolved within a day, according to Peoria Police Lt. Steve Roegge. Other issues took multiple days. Peoria police were a consistent Washington presence into the first week of December, Snow said. Peoria firefighters visited Washington almost daily until Feb. 1, Tomblin said. His department manned the Washington fire station for 16 days and responded to routine calls. “Their firefighters, they had their houses blown away,” Tomblin said. “They were out there doing what you and me would do — taking care of their own business.” Fire Department hazardous-materials personnel also responded to the Roanoke area, where there were issues with liquid-propane tanks the tornado damaged, Tomblin said. The Peorians’ efforts resulted in plenty of overtime and/or plenty of staff juggling. But all agreed there was no alternative. “Officers wanted to be there,” Roegge said. “They wanted to help. They’d work a shift over here (in Peoria), then overtime over there. “They understood they had a home to go to. Their house was intact. They wanted to do something.”


35

4,454 25


WHAT HAPPENED TO

GEORGETOWN?



While most of the city of Washington has moved forward with rebuilding, tornado-devastated Georgetown Common Luxury Apartments now just sits as a row of flat slabs after the remnants of all but one of the buildings were cleared earlier this year. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 179 units at Georgetown were occupied at the time of the tornado. This photograph was taken Nov. 14, 2014. H20 SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2014


Apartment tenants displaced by tornado struggle to find new housing in Washington

BY THOMAS BRUCH of the Journal Star

A

year later and the clock’s still ticking for Reynold Mitchell and his family to find a residence in Washington after the tornado displaced them from Georgetown Common

Luxury Apartments. The spinning EF-4 tornado ripped through Washington the morning of Nov. 17 with the apartment complex directly in its path. In its wake were 16 buildings with top floors exposed, vehicles wrapped around telephone poles and strewed personal belongings. Every resident was displaced. Mitchell, his wife, two children and two dogs bounced around a few places before settling in Colony South Apartments in Morton. Mitchell has no complaints about Colony South, but like many who were displaced after the tornado, there remains a desire to return to Washington. And if his children, a son in eighth grade and a daughter in fifth, want to stay in Washington School District 51, they must find a residence in Washington before the start of the 2015-2016 academic year. That’s the expiration of the district’s grace period for displaced residents who told the district they were still looking for a home. Mitchell is trying hard, looking at “15 to 20” apartments, all of which have either rebuffed him because of his dogs or soared past his price range. The Great Dane-Mastiff mix breed and the Australian Shepherd have been impediments he never envisioned when he bought them. Some landlords say their apartments have a weight limit on pets. Others bar dogs altogether. A few have told him the combination of kids and dogs exceed their comfort level, which Mitchell found both confusing and galling. “The dogs are very well-behaved,” Mitchell said. “They’re crated at night, they’re crated when we’re not there. They don’t destroy anything.” The dogs are part of the family, Mitchell said, and getting rid of them is not a solution. His plea to landlords in Washington remains the same — the family will be good tenants, and it’s vital for the continuing education of his kids. His son has learning disabilities but has succeeded in Washington schools. His daughter already reads at the high-school level. Mitchell said both will JOURNAL STAR, PEORIA, ILL.

DAVID ZALAZNIK/JOURNAL STAR

Georgetown Common residents wait for clearance to enter the Washington apartment complex to search for belongings left in the debris by the tornado almost a week earlier.


179 1 30

Units at Georgetown Common Luxury Apartments occupied at the time of the tornado. Out of the 16 residential buildings in the complex that wasn’t condemned and demolished. Minutes allotted for Georgetown residents to pack up and take their belongings five days after the tornado hit. Many were forced to leave possessions under time duress and a lack of space in their vehicles.

continue to excel in Washington schools and believes a change in school systems might be jarring. “Give us a chance,” Mitchell said. “If you want, meet our dogs, see how well they

behave.” In May, Georgetown owners razed all but one of the buildings. Some Georgetown residents have returned to Washington in a better situation than before the tornado. Jared and Tiffany Spencer used the blank slate after being displaced from Georgetown to purchase their first home with their two young kids, Dixie and Conrad. It wasn’t that simple at first. With 1-yearold Dixie and 2-month-old Conrad at the time of the tornado, figuring out a balance between short-term comfort and a longterm plan for raising their family in the right home left the Spencers considering many options. A one-story house in a quaint Sunnyland neighborhood was about to hit the market, and a friend caught wind of it. The Spencers decided it was right for them. “Despite the situation, we were very fortu-

nate and very lucky,” Tiffany Spencer said. The Spencers, like so many Georgetown residents, have some scars from what was left behind or lost to the tornado. There was Tiffany’s wedding dress, wedding rings and countless photos — all gone. Only a few totes full of belongings were salvaged in the 30-minute window they had to retrieve items on the Friday after the tornado. Tiffany was most thankful finding a camera and SD cards full of other pictures as well as her late mother’s baker’s rack. Through Federal Emergency Management Agency grants and the generosity of the churches and volunteers, the Spencers have been made mostly whole. “If it wasn’t for the churches and the people of the community, half of these people wouldn’t have made it,” Jared Spencer said. Thomas Bruch can be reached at 686-3262 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ThomasBruch.


Adding up 11.17.2013 The following figures reflect tornado-related construction permits issued in Washington through October:

$122,341,200 Value of permitted rebuilding and repair projects Repair and rebuild permits issued Estimated properties considered total losses

807 600

Worthington Builders worker Isaiah Gutierrez carries a sheet of plywood while he and coworkers build a house on Gillman Avenue in Washington. DAVID ZALAZNIK/JOURNAL STAR

A staggering recovery Washington’s rebuild has come more quickly than some expected BY MATT BUEDEL of the Journal Star

T

he figures aren’t final, but tornado-related construction permits issued over the last year add up to one staggering number: 122,341,200. Dollars. From projects as simple as fence repairs to total home reconstruction, the accumulated value of 807 permits issued through the end of October exceeded $120 million, according to the Washington Planning and Development Department. “We’re certainly a lot further along than I thought we’d be at this point,” said Jon Oliphant, director of Planning and H22 SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2014

Development. “It’s gone so much better than I expected.” The city estimated 600 properties were total losses, but there’s still no definitive accounting of exactly which homes qualified as structurally unsound enough to rebuild. City officials similarly can’t quantify how many properties have been abandoned in the wake of the tornado — even after a year, it’s still too soon to say whether some properties won’t be rebuilt by current or future owners. “We are confident in thinking within a couple of years, I’d say conservatively, that 85 to 90 percent of these lots will be rebuilt,” Oliphant said. Of the 807 tornado-related construction permits issued in the city since the storm, 430 count as total rebuilds — structures reconstructed from the ground up, 192 with new foundations, 238 to be built on existing footings. The remaining 377 permits represent a range of repair

projects. Of those, 312 projects have been completed. Permits for repairs reached the highest frequency in the month after the tornado. Applications for repair and rebuild permits followed the same trajectory this year, with peaks in April and surges again in July. “The bulk of the permits right away were people who needed to get their roofs repaired,” said Becky Holmes, the city’s building and zoning supervisor. Her department also has one other figure that illustrates the slow process of rebuilding after such a devastating natural disaster: 139, the number of certificates of occupancy issued so far, allowing people to move back into the most severely damaged properties. Matt Buedel can be reached at 686-3154 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JournoBuedel.


Moving fast City official says tornado hasn’t stopped Washington from growing BY BRAD ERICKSON of the Journal Star

C

ity Administrator Tim Gleason says last year’s tornado failed to knock Washington off the fast track. “Before the tornado this was one of the fastest-growing cities in the Peoria metropolitan area,” he said. “The tornado has not changed that.” Between 2000 and 2010, Washington’s population jumped from 10,841 to 15,134, up 39.6 percent, according to census figures. Gleason said the city boasted 5,870 households, 4,542 owneroccupied, and 1,328 rentals. The tornado displaced an estimated 2,600 residents and affected 1,108 households, including 600 that were destroyed, he said. More than 225 rental units remain empty. While Washington lost some residents, he expects the residential market to recover. With 800 building permits issued for the 1,108 homes that were damaged or destroyed by the storm, Washington officials estimate that by the end of 2014, 75 percent of the structures lost that day will be rebuilt. By the end of 2015, they expect that number to climb to 85 percent or 90 percent. Residential development alone, however, will not enable Washington to control its destiny and continue to grow, he said. Gleason said that mindset was in place before the tornado. In September 2013, the city purchased 223 acres of vacant land along U.S. Route 24 for nearly $5 million from Morton Community Bank, and Gleason said he is optimistic about the development potential. “We are poised to have some commercial and light industrial development that was not here a couple of years ago,” he said. Also looking ahead is Joplin, Mo., where a tornado in May 2011 killed 161 people and damaged or destroyed more than 7,000 houses. Joplin’s population in 2010 was 50,150. Troy Bolander, Joplin’s director of planning, development and neighborhood services, said “census estimates currently show a loss of less than 2 percent” from 2010. JOURNAL STAR, PEORIA, ILL.


1,108 600 121

Washington households affected by the tornado. Households destroyed by tornado. Displaced students bused to and from surrounding towns following the tornado.

City Manager Sam Anselm said Joplin made good use of such aids as community development block grants and emphasized “the message to our residents that we wanted them to stay.” Recovery is taking longer in tiny Greensburg, Kan. In May 2007, when a tornado killed 11 people and nearly wiped out the town. About half the town’s 1,500 residents left, and in 2010, the population was 777. “It’s changing very slowly to the positive; 850 to 900 (residents) is where we’re at about now,” said Mayor Bob Dixson. Greensburg has focused on green rebuilding, making a name for itself in energy efficiency and environmental design. But it’s not easy. “It’s just a methodical process. You have to keep working at it,” Dixson said. Working together has been a priority for Washington’s school districts — 50, 51, 52 and 308. They shared the duties of busing displaced students. Right after the tornado, the districts transported 121 students to and from surrounding towns including Peoria, Pekin, Morton, Eureka, Roanoke, Metamora, Germantown Hills, Spring Bay and East Peoria, according to figures from the school districts. A year later, only six displaced students still needed buses to and from other towns. School officials said there may still be displaced students living in other towns, but they are not requiring transportation from the school districts. District 52 Superintendent John Tignor said the commutes were stressful for many families. “I heard that more from parents than I did from students,” he said. “Students are very resilient.” Brad Erickson can be reached at 686-3059 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @bradrickson.

Insurance unable to cover all homeowners’ losses BY LAURA NIGHTENGALE of the Journal Star

Insurance: the assurance responsible home owners and renters can buy to ensure that if, and when, disaster strikes they have the means to recover. But what of those for whom insurance doesn’t provide for every need? Of the 1,010 cases opened by Tri-County Long Term Recovery — a collection of service organizations that includes the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Community Foundation, churches and other The top five needs of tornadoagencies — 354 remain open in aff ected residents who sought November 2014. That means about help from the not-for-profit one-third of tornado affected were the following: residents who sought help from 1. Housing (repair and the not-for-profit sector still have needs unmet a year after the storm. rebuild, along with the need for temporary housing until their While some of those cases were homes are finished). residents who were without insurance, LTR chairman Jim Fassino 2. Advocacy (with insurance said, the majority were underincompanies, FEMA, contractors, sured, “whether they knew it at etc.). the time or didn’t know it until the 3. Household goods end.” (furniture and appliances). Even after reaching a settlement 4. Transportation (due to or exhausting the resources of having to drive farther from their insurance settlement, many temporary housing to work). residents found the payout didn’t 5. Soil remediation. match recovery costs. LTR has heard cases of residents SOURCE: The Red Cross of Central asking for help paying to replace Illinois, Salvation Army, Rotary and siding — replacing damaged siding other agencies use an information was covered by the homeowner’s sharing system to aggregate insurance, but paying for the adindividual cases, from which this ditional siding to match was not information was compiled. — fencing or landscaping. Many have sought assistance paying deductibles, compensating for travel costs or covering expenses to clean their damaged home. Not everyone, Fassino said, expects to be made whole. “We’ve had so many who have said ‘it’s cost us $6,000 or $7,000 and if we can get $2,000 it would really help,’” he said. Phae Moore, executive director of The National Center for the Prevention of Home Improvement Fraud, said in her experiences with disaster victims communication between homeowners and their insurance carriers is most often the issue behind a dispute. To be proactive, Moore suggests, know ahead of time what your insurance policy does and doesn’t cover. “A lot of people will go in and get the least expensive insurance and have no concept of what it covers until after your disaster happens and you find out something isn’t covered,” Moore said. Moore also suggests homeowners should ask their insurance provider for an insurance inventory form, a checklist of the possessions in your home that if lost in a tornado, fire or other disaster, your insurance company can pay to replace.

Top needs

Laura Nightengale can be reached at 686-3181 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @lauranight.


Firefighters work the scene of a devastating tornado on Nov. 17, 2013, in Washington. DAVID ZALAZNIK/JOURNAL STAR

Part of the recovery Home insurance an important component of tornado relief

and anxious about their insurance coverage. Management Program at Western Illinois “The first few months were difficult,” University in Macomb. Manier said. “The hardest ones were the “If we saw a lot of blank spots, that would ones that weren’t completely destroyed. We indicate problems,” said Rozdilsky, who has Roger Hickman is still not ready to speak also studied the aftermath publicly about his experiences post-tornado. were hearing from really frustrated residents.” of tornadoes in WashingHis home was severely damaged. Washington residents ton, Moore, Okla., and His office was severely damaged. accounted for 26 of the 59 Joplin, Mo. “But what His parents’ home was destroyed. formal insurance comwe’re seeing indicates As if that wasn’t enough, Hickman, a plaints handled by the that people are getting longtime State Farm insurance agent, is the State Farm Illinois Department of insurance payouts and agent for many other Washington residents Homeowner claims Insurance in the aftermath they’re using the payouts whose homes and vehicles were damaged, statewide. of the Nov. 17, 2013, storm. to rebuild.” severely damaged or destroyed. MILLION The construction also “This past 11 months has just been crazy,” Eleven came from Gifford, Total State Farm indicates residents have he said shortly before the tornado’s one-year and the remaining 22 came claims paid statewide. Includes from throughout the state. the proper insurance anniversary. pay-out for 2,000 auto claims. Th e department does not coverage, Rozdilsky said. There’s more. release the outcome of Washington’s home ownThe tornado wrecked 1,108 homes in complaints. ership rate is 75 percent, Washington. State Farm insured roughly A proposed meeting and the median home 500 of the damaged households. Of the 500, State Farm claims still unpaid about insurance issues bevalue is $166,000, accordabout 350 homeowners were Hickman’s Source: State Farm tween the mayor and State ing to U.S. Census figures. clients. Farm’s CEO never materiSince the tornado, State “We still have a lot of work to do. We still alized, but Manier met with claims adjusters Farm Agent Jodi Brown said she has noticed have a lot of open claims,” he said. “I just from a variety of insurance companies. more people educating themselves about want to make sure all of the work gets done About 800 building permits have been what their homeowners’ policy does — or and all of my people are taken care of.” issued in Washington since then. The figure does not — cover. Homeowners’ insurance-related comcould include permits for minor repairs, but They’ve also realized the importance of plaints have subsided, according to Washthe fact that Washington resembles a recon- making an inventory of all household items ington Mayor Gary Manier. But in the weeks after the tornado, Manier struction site rather than a disaster site sug- and storing it in a safe deposit box, Brown gests the insurance process is working, said said. would receive five or six calls a day from Jack Rozdilsky, a professor in the Emergency The lessons in the fine print of an insurhomeowners, emotional about their loss

BY PAM ADAMS of the Journal Star



8,000 $170

Not known

ance policy always hit home after a natural disaster, Rozdilsky said. While many homeowners may not have known the difference between cash value and extended replacement policies, they learned. Cash value policies, as the name implies, pay only the current value of property. For instance, a house built in 1982 would be reimbursed at the cost of a house built in 1982. A 10-year-old television would be valued at the cost of a 10-year-old television, rather than the current cost to replace it. Premiums cost more for an extended replacement-cost policy, but such policies also reimburse at current market costs. The fine print also details whether coverage includes the costs of temporary housing and debris removal, how much it reimburses for demolition costs or if it reimburses for spoiled food. “It’s not uncommon to have conflicts between insurance companies and clients after a disaster,” Rozdilsky said, including conflicts that lead to lawsuits. “But it’s a mistake to say it’s common. A lot of people understand their settlements and work it out.” Such issues aren’t unique to Washington or Tazewell County, he said. However, “From my observation, I don’t see any outof-the-ordinary issues that would sideline the recovery process.”


Saving Washington

PIECE BY PIECE Adding up 11.17.2013

First at the Morton Public Library, and then moving to Washington, Community Power Project reunites lost items with tornado survivors

25,000 17,000 14

T


Personal items returned.

Albums containing lost personal items waiting to be reunited with owners.

BY STEVE STEIN Of the Journal Star he Nov. 17, 2013, tornado dislodged thousands of personal items and sent them scattering across the state. Thanks to three women who didn’t know each other before Nov. 17, dozens of volunteers and Good Samaritans and the reach of social media, about 17,000 of 25,000 found items have been reunited with their owners. Among them are a family photo of a 1-year-old who later died at age 25, a woman’s late brother’s military medals, a digital camera card reader with photos of family possessions and photos found near the Illinois-Wisconsin border. Hundreds of items have been collected in Grundy County and the southwest Chicago suburbs, testimony of the EF-4 tornado’s strength. Laura Ruff of Washington, Marsie Gale of East Peoria and former Peoria resident Heather Binder of Oswego, who met through social media, are the organizers of the volunteer Community Power Project. Now housed at the Washington District Library at Five Points Washington after being moved from its first home at

Personal items found.

DAVID ZALAZNIK/JOURNAL STAR

Community Power Project volunteers Bonnie Nofsinger, left, and Laura Ruff talk about the 14,000 unclaimed items remaining at Washington District Library recovered from the 2013 tornado. The group has cataloged each of the items and hopes to return them to their rightful owners.

the Morton Public Library, the lost-andfound effort is still receiving items collected in central Illinois and as far away as Chicago, 150 miles away. “As tornado survivors are moving back into their homes, they’re finding items in storage bins that don’t belong to them,” Binder said. “So if you’ve stopped by the library to look for items, stop by again.” Fourteen albums at the library are filled with cataloged photos and documents such as military records, marriage licenses, birth certificates and canceled checks, along with items such as report cards, love letters, address books and baseball cards.

There also are a few hundred larger cataloged items, including a doll and an old family Bible. About 1,000 items are in the process of being cataloged. In a recently completed effort, Gale cleaned negatives and produced digital images of about 3,000 photos. Items can be viewed on the project’s “Found Items from the Washington Illinois and Diamond Illinois Tornadoes” Facebook page, and at www.washington.lib.il.us and www.com munitypowerproject.org. Privacy is paramount for project volunteers and library staff.

Volunteers are trying to contact the owners of items that won’t be posted online because of sensitive information. “And people need to show an I.D. when they come here to get an item,” said library director Randall Yelverton. Morton Library Director Janice Sherman and her staff devoted hundreds of hours to help Ruff, Gale and Binder get the project started. The items were moved from Morton to Washington in April by volunteers from Living Waters Lutheran Church in Peoria. Project organizers hope items will continue to be found and turned in. Donations of supplies are appreciated. Two laptops at the library can be used to search for items. Library hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday. The library’s phone number is 309-444-2241. Interested in volunteering for the project or have a question? Send an email to [email protected]. Steve Stein can be reached at 686-3114 or [email protected]. Read his Stein Time blog on pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpartanSteve.


There to help

Adding up

11.17.2013

70,000

Bethany Community Church steps up to lead volunteer efforts BY LESLIE RENKEN of the Journal Star


200 200 35

Wheelbarrows used

T

he idea came to Ben Davidson as he rode his bike through tornado-ravaged Washington back to his congregation. Davidson, executive pastor at Bethany Community Church, had just checked on his children, the two who had stayed home sick from church at Five Points Washington the morning of Nov. 17, 2013. Davidson’s home was out of the tornado’s path by about 400 yards. Relieved of that worry, his next thought was how his church could help the victims. “The question was not should we be involved in tornado relief, but how,” said Davidson, who participated in the 2005 cleanup following Hurricane Katrina. Inspired by the work of the Slidell-based church running the efforts there, Davidson decided his role would be to coordinate the volunteers who would want to help in Washington. When he arrived at Five Points Washington following the tornado, victims were streaming in, shoe-less, homeless and traumatized. Creating an organized volunteer effort would take time. “When I went to the first meeting of Tri-County Long Term Recovery late in November or early in December, I was already the co-chair of volunteer management,” said Davidson. Tri-County LTR was created by churches and other organizations from the region to help people recover following devastating events such as the 2013 tornado. Davidson’s staff at Bethany Community Church still fields phone calls from homeowners and prospective volunteers. Staff members also organize work days and train volunteers, who are given safety equipment and tools before being assigned jobs. There’s not much volunteers won’t do for homeowners. In addition to debris removal, they have helped people move, mowed yards, laid sod, built fences, painted and roofed. “We’ve even washed Legos. A gentleman brought us a big storage tub full of Legos that he had in his home for his grandchildren. We washed off all the bits of mud and insulation,” said Debby Landwehr, Davidson’s mother-in-law and recovery coordinator for the group. Bethany Community Church’s unique facility has been helpful in the effort. While they hold Sunday services at Five Points Washington, the church’s offices are on a 75-acre farm purchased in 2005

Volunteer hours logged Rakes used Shovels used

13,000 13,000 13,000

Gloves used Masks used

Safety glasses used

25,000

Bottles of water consumed

Need help? FRED ZWICKY/JOURNAL STAR

Senior pastor Kenneth Sistrunk from Calvary Mennonite Church gives a safety briefing before leading volunteers in prayer as they head out to provide relief work for the tornado ravaged community of Washington. Crews initially started with major cleanup of the debris, but have carried through with recovery projects as the community dug out of the disaster. by their parent church, Bethany Baptist Church in Edwards, after the decision was made to form a congregation in Washington. On the property is a large metal barn that had just been cleaned out and painted when the tornado hit. The facility is the perfect place for volunteers to gather, and it has room for storing the large number of tools purchased and donated for the cleanup effort. “We see God really setting things up for this to happen,” said Davidson of the church’s role following the disaster. Shortly after the storm the church pulled together funds to purchase a house beside the property. Housing was needed for out-of-town volunteers — as many as 40 at a time slept there during peak clean-up activities. As of mid-October volunteer hours have topped 70,000. Some homeowners are struggling with insurance issues, but that is only one of a multitude of reasons

why progress has been slow for some families, said Landwehr. “There were 1,100 homes affected, and there are 1,100 stories, all different,” said Landwehr. “There are health issues, family issues, marital issues — to make a general statement about where the community is in the recovery process would be unfair.” Landwehr and Davidson have been affected by the difficulties their neighbors have faced. There have been tears, but there have also been moments of hope. Davidson told the story of a farmer and his wife whose land was inundated with debris. “I would drive by and see them out on their hands and knees pulling stuff out of their acreage. Then at other times I would see people from across the nation — Alaska, New York, California — volunteers who had come to help, out there working with them side-by-side,” said Davidson. Landwehr said, “I praise the Lord that we had the volunteers that we had.”

Though Bethany Community Church will not be coordinating volunteer groups through the winter, homeowners dealing with tornado-related issues can still receive help through TriCounty Long Term Recovery. Call 6966923.


Pulling people together Volunteers served hot meals, helped tornado victims cope with loss BY DARIA SOKOLOVA of the Journal Star

W

ithin days of the tornado, the donations that poured into central Illinois overflowed almost every available space — food, bottled water, tarps, clothing, plus more. Volunteer workers streamed into Washington from all across the country. The Chicago Bears and Blackhawks. Church groups. Families using their vacation time. Scout troops. Crossroads United Methodist Church, which became a shelter for victims of the storm, received truckload after truckload of donations. Enough food to fill five classrooms and clothes to fill six classrooms. The churches in the Washington area worked together to coordinate the distribution of donations and to coordinate the volunteers. One church, located the closest to the destruction, Our Savior Lutheran Church on Kingsbury Road, was damaged but spared, said the Rev. Thomas Heren. The shell of the church remained intact, allowing the congregation to set up a base of operation. For the next month, the church deployed hundreds of volunteers and served thousands of hot meals for residents and volunteers. “Within 30 minutes after the tornado, we had nine people sign in downstairs. They lost their homes, they had nowhere to go,” Heren said. “Some of them had no shoes.” Our Savior Evangelical Lutheran Church, part of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, worked in conjunction with Lutheran Church Charities. There was a total of 1,966 Lutheran Church volunteers from Illinois and other states working in the area, according to the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod disaster response Coordinator Stephen Born. One of them was Tim Hetzner, director of Addison, Ill.- based Lutheran Church Charities, who came to Washington a few


Brad Pine of Delavan, left, works to remove sod from Harry LaHood Park with other Rotary Club volunteers in Washington. Old sod was removed due to the amount of glass and debris embedded in the grass where children would play. RON JOHNSON/JOURNAL STAR

hours after the storm. Apart from making sure they had homeowners’ consent to work on properties and proper equipment for their volunteers, Hetzner said Lutheran Church Charities provided comfort dogs for spiritual care. “The important healing part for people was to be able to talk about what happened,” Hetzner said. “Most times people are in shock and then they face the reality of what just took place. The dogs help people relax so they can talk about it, and many times, people will talk to the dogs before they talk to a person.” The relief efforts continued from November through May, only stopping in February when temperatures plunged below zero. Our Savior also provided financial assistance and services to those who have been affected. Crediting Our Savior Evangelical

Lutheran Church congregation for the smooth operation, Hetzner said the church spent close to $85,000 on 200 trash bins to remove debris, for example. “Having worked hundreds of disasters, this was a unique community in the aspect of how the people pulled together,” he said. “It was a unique community because of the church here and people of this church.” Volunteers worked on 136 home sites, but that wasn’t their main accomplishment, according to Hetzner.

Adding up 11.17.2013 Our Savior Lutheran Church:

$85,000 1,966 136

Spent on trash bins

Volunteers deployed

Home sites cleared

“Just quick cleanup doesn’t build up the dignity of the person that you are serving,” he said. “You’ve got to be there to keep them strong so they can survive and work through it.” Daria Sokolova can be reached at [email protected] or 686-3194. Follow her on Twitter @DariaSokolova77


Recovering emotionally While houses are being repaired and rebuilt, many tornado survivors are still struggling mentally

Children heal W at own pace R BY LAURA NIGHTENGALE of the Journal Star

ebuilding after a disaster can cause stress levels to skyrocket. Between reaching an insurance settlement — for those who had insurance — finding housing and rebuilding a home, the physical damage can be accompanied by debilitating psychological and emotional troubles. For families with children, the stress can be multiplied, said Corey Campbell, licensed clinical social worker with the Human Service Center. “Each person is unique, so the more people you add to the family system it’s going to add to that complexity of recovery because everyone has to find their own way,” Campbell said. “If you’re part of a family not only do you have to take care of yourself personally, you may have two or three other people in the family unit that you also have to look after.” Victims of a disaster such as the Nov. 17, 2013, tornadoes that struck Tazewell and Woodford counties have an elevated risk of depression, anxiety and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. For parents, the struggle is multiplied when they have to deal with their own emotional obstacles and those of the family. Children, Campbell said, are individualized. Some are resilient — couple that with the inability to comprehend things like insurance claims, mortgages, contractor esti-


BY LAURA NIGHTENGALE of the Journal Star hile damaged homes are being rebuilt after the tornadoes of Nov. 17, 2013, the emotional recovery is just beginning.


9

Of 18 school districts in Tazewell County which serve families affected by the Nov. 17, 2013, tornadoes. Of four superintendents in Washington lived in homes that were destroyed. Students and staff, respectively, in District 51 whose homes were damaged by the storm. Days of school missed before some Washington schools reopened.

2 222 and 23 5

mates or transportation — and are nearly immune to the drama. Others are not. In children, signs of trauma or emotional distress can manifest as behavioral issues: sleep disturbance or regression such as an independent child becoming more dependent on mom and dad. While that emotional response depends much on the individual, mother and Washington resident Amy Johnson said she can see the difference age makes between her two children, ages 5 and 8. Her daughter, age 5, puts things into simple categories: “tornadoed” or non-“tornadoed.” Since the family moved back into their rebuilt home, life has, to her, returned to normal. For her 8-year-old son, the new

house still doesn’t feel like home, as she discovered on a recent evening when she found him crying over the journal in which he’d been writing his memories from Nov. 17. “I wouldn’t have thought this far from it that it would still have that kind of effect,” Johnson said. “As a parent I thought we had come so far.” Half of Tazewell County’s 18 school districts house families that were affected by the tornadoes, Regional Superintendent Gail Owen said. In Washington two of the four superintendents lost their homes. The hardest hit was District 51, which includes Central Primary and Central Intermediate schools where the homes of 222 students and 23 staff members were damaged. Despite the chaos, Owen said, the regional office encouraged schools to reopen as quickly as possible to regain that sense of normalcy for children and to allow parents to return to work, handle insurance claims or do repair work. Brian Hoelscher, principal of Central Intermediate School, remembers those first days of the school’s reopening as an important point in the recovery process. “Kids were just so happy to be back in school, back with their friends,” Hoelscher said. “And we were excited to have them.” Today, he said, more children are coming into class proclaiming to teachers that they’ve moved back into their home, and that’s a milestone to celebrate.

Corey Campbell, licensed clinical social worker with the Human Service Center in Peoria, said the number of residents seeking counseling services after the storm is increasing. “When the house is all settled and the insurance is all processed, and all that stress is gone, the house is rebuilt and then you realize you’re still anxious,” Campbell said. Six months to a year from the disaster was when those increased needs emerged, service agencies had been told by their counterparts in Joplin, Mo., which took a direct hit from a tornado on May 22, 2011. Campbell said his and other agencies have been on the lookout for increased rates of mental health service needs, divorce and substance abuse. “We have anecdotal data so far that all of that is happening,” Campbell said. One problem facing residents who have returned to work is a phenomenon called presenteeism, where people are physically back in their routine, but struggling mentally or emotionally to be productive. Presenteeism can be as obvious as uncontrollable crying and as subtle as a lack of concentration or constant worry. The most important step, Campbell said, is recognizing that things are off. “Talk to a supportive person. If it’s a therapist, great,” Campbell said. “But if that’s just not your bag for whatever reason, talk to someone else. Don’t hold it in.” Licensed family and marriage therapist Jori Sparry with One Counseling and Wellness in Washington said her business served the most affected residents from about three months to eight months after the storm, in part because of a partnership with the Red Cross that paid for up to three visits during that time. In the weeks following the storm, she said, the community appeared to be in shock showing signs such as trouble sleeping and coping with such a catastrophic event. Now, people are showing the long-term signs of stress. “Everybody does the whole process at their own pace. A year later for some they’re just starting to deal with the emotional aspect,” Sparry said. Sparry said anniversaries such as this can be an important part of the healing process as an opportunity to both look back, and to look forward. “Our community does not want to be defined as the town that was hit by the EF-4 tornado. The pride in this community is what is allowing us to rebuild and move forward,” Sparry said. “We are future-focused.”

Laura Nightengale can be reached at 686-3181 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @lauranight.



18

The thickness in inches of the reinforced concrete walls of the safe room built in the new house at 105 Gillman Ave., Washington.

1 in 20

Safe rooms constructed inside basements of new houses n Washington.

$6,300-$8,200

The price range to build an 8-foot, by 8-foot reinforced concrete safe room, according to FEMA. The cost for a remodel in an existing home is 20 percent more.

A year after an EF-4 tornado ripped away their Gillman Avenue home over their heads as they huddled against a basement wall, Andrea Bowers says it brings her comfort to know that their rebuilt home now has a tornado safe room. FRED ZWICKY/JOURNAL STAR

Taking shelter A BY SCOTT HILYARD of the Journal Star

ndrea and Ryan Bowers have been forced to make a lot of decisions since the Nov. 17, 2013, tornado wiped their home off its foundation. Curtains. Countertops. Furniture. Flooring. Everything. Most importantly, however, they decided to have a safe room built into the basement of their new home. “For me, personally, the safe room is vital to my healing,” Andrea Bowers said. “To lose almost everything you had, and so quickly, is to completely lose your sense of security in the very place you once felt the most secure. Hopefully we don’t ever need (the safe room), but there is peace of mind just JOURNAL STAR, PEORIA, ILL.

knowing it is there.” A large number of safe rooms are being constructed in basements of homes being repaired or rebuilt in the aftermath of the tornado that damaged more than 1,100 homes in Pekin, East Peoria and Washington. But as a percentage of the total number of construction projects, it’s not so much. Jon Oliphant, Washington’s director of planning and development, said approximately one in 20 rebuilds in the city include a reinforced safe room, designed for enhanced security in the event of a disaster. “It’s not necessarily a significant number, but there are definitely more safe rooms than we saw prior to the tornado,” Oliphant said. “People have been trying to have their homes be a little bit safer than what they were before.” Andrea and Ryan Bowers, their 10-week-

One in 20 home rebuilds in Washington will include safety feature

old daughter, Sydney, and their two dogs, Max and Winnie, rode out the storm in the basement of their home on Gillman, one of the city’s hardest hit neighborhoods. They were partially buried beneath the pieces of what had been their first home. Salvaged belongings fit inside a couple of Rubbermaid tubs. Max, a 15-year-old beagle-basset hound mix with arthritis, was found alive, one hour after the storm and three miles away at an apartment complex. How he got there, only Max could say, and he’s not talking. In a tornado as powerful as the EF-4 that struck Washington, freakish, unexplainable, occurrences are the expectation, not the surprise. Enduring that level of trauma made it an easy decision to spend a little extra money on a reinforced room in the basement. Costs vary, depending on the plan. The

Bowers had a narrow room constructed in the southwest corner of the basement that is separated from the rest of the basement by 18 inches of concrete strengthened with rebar. The ceiling is the concrete front porch. A steel door in the basement will close it off. Andrea Bowers said she believes it cost an additional several hundred dollars. “I think of it as a concrete walk-in closet,” Andrea Bowers said. She said the room’s value extends beyond her family’s ownership of the house. “Maybe we’ll never need it, and probably this won’t be the last house we own,” Andrea Bowers said. “But if we sell it to someone else down the line, we’ll know we’re passing down a house that’s as safe as it can be and maybe that will be a comfort to the family that buys it.” Scott Hilyard can be reached at 686-3244 or by email at shilyard@pjstar. Follow @scotthilyard on Twitter.


Before disaster strikes Home kits should include everything that may be needed for 24 to 48 hours

BY ZACH BERG of the Journal Star

The Tazewell County Emergency Management Agency was out in force on the morning of Nov. 17, 2013, doing safety exercises in John McNaughton Park just outside of Pekin. Hours later, the Nov. 17 tornadoes hit and TEMA was back in action. “Disasters don’t happen when they’re convenient,” said Dawn Cook, TEMA director. “We know that, and the people need to know that, too.” Since the storm, Cook has been educating people on what to do to prepare for a disaster. “Be it a bad winter storm, flood or tornado, families should have a plan on what to do, or where to meet in case those things happen,” Cook said. Cook suggested families have an emergency meeting place away from their home in the instance the house is damaged. But for most disasters, home is the safest haven, and it should contain a disaster kit. A good disaster kit supplies everything one may need for 24 or 48 hours without any assistance from outside help. A supply list provided by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency has

66 items on its list (http: //m.fema.gov/build-akit). Cook recommended starting out small when starting a kit. Start with a container, suggested Cook. The TEMA director said a large plastic tote is the best storage container. “And every time you go to Wal-Mart, buy an item on the list and then put it in the container.” While specialized items are key for a kit, Cook said that people often forget to pack some common, everyday items. “People remember to put canned food in the kit, but forget to put a can opener inside,” Cook said. If electricity were to go out, debit and credit cards would be useless. “Make sure if you have special needs, like diabetes, have insulin.” Cook said the disaster kit should be checked regularly. “When you’re replacing the batteries in your smoke alarm, check your kit,” Cook said. Food and water should be checked for expiration dates. Electronics and tools should be tested to make sure they work. “When you need to depend on the disaster kit, you have to be sure things will work.” Zach Berg can be reached at [email protected] or 686-3257. Follow him on Twitter @ZacharyBerg.



AFTER THE STORM, GLORIOUS SUNSETS


I

t was an uncharacteristically warm November Sunday morn, and first the suddenly black, ominous sky and the wailing of sirens warned of the unimaginable devastation to come. Almost immediately temperatures would begin to plummet, as befitting the season, and days later the first snowfall of the season would arrive, giving the Tazewell County town of Washington an empty, eerily silent, moonscape feel. And then, one after another after another, through one of the longest and most bitterly cold winters in

memory, came these stunning, vivid sunsets — sharp orange and yellow and purple and crystal blue, forming patterns in the sky that seemed the work of a master abstractionist painter — the harbinger of a brighter future yet to come. The last year has been a long and sometimes bleak ordeal, but there were moments of uncommon beauty and gratitude and joy in that time, too — the boundless generosity of others, the pick-yourself-back-up nature of Midwesterners, making the best of it — and, of course, those glorious sunsets. Enjoy.

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY MIKE BAILEY OF THE JOURNAL STAR


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Building Since 1954

• Lifetime Limited Warranty Dimension Shake Shingles • Custom Cabinetry

• 3/4” Tongue & Groove Fir Plywood Subfloors • 2x10 Rafters with Bonus Attic Space

Quality Built, One Board At a Time

We can build on our lot or yours, and we can build from your plans or ours.

Proud Members of

CALL US TODAY AT (309) 697-5700 OR 1-877-880-5551 H32 SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2014
