The Springfield News-Leader from Springfield, Missouri • Page 6

6A Wednesday, May 7, 2003 News-Leader ozarksNow.com Wednesday, May 7, 2003 7A 6" .9 MED0 -I u. 1 si Tornadoes return, but damage little Conditions today and Thursday could spawn new trouble, forecasters say. it By Angela Wilson NEWS-LEADER i CHRISTINA OICKEN NEWS-LEADER Jim Luce of Aurora cleans up his property after a tornado destroyed his house. When Sunday's tornado hit, he fully expected to die, he said, but survival has invigorated him. From Monett to Aurora to Battlefield, residents try to salvage and secure homes before new storms hit.

Springfield Aurora i ft i in Polk County, Emergency Management Director Kermit Hargis said Tuesday night. "We can't find any structural damage, but have a lot of big trees down," he said. "We've got people out and they checked and didn't find anything." Trained spotters had reported a tornado briefly touching the ground south of Missouri 52 between Versailles and Stover. Weather spotters also reported a tornado south of Versailles near Missouri 5. Phelps County reported flooding in the Beaver Manor subdivision on Missouri 63 and on 10th Street in Rolla, where several callers to the Police Department reported possible touchdowns.

The flag at the courthouse was blowing so furiously at one point it was straight up in the air, officials said. Rain washed out roads in Laclede County and the storm dumped nickel- and pea-size hail across parts of Dade County. Foster said it's imperative that residents tune in to the forecast today and Thursday for watches and warnings in the area. "Be aware. Stay tuned to weather radio," he said.

"This was a good example. If you don't have one (weather radio), get one f. "Watch your local TV, listen to your favorite radio station," he added. "Remain alert of what's going on." The Associated Press and News-Leader staff contributed to this report. Battlefield Just days after twisters ripped apart homes and killed nearly 20 people in the Ozarks, the National Weather Service spent Tuesday night tracking reports of touchdowns in at least 11 Missouri counties.

Officials likely won't know until this morning the full extent of damages or injuries caused during the powerful storms that pelted the region with rain, hail and high winds Tuesday, said meteorologist Andy Foster. Teams will go out today to assess damage, which likely occurred in areas not hit during Sunday night's storms, he said. Tuesday night's storms "will hamper recovery efforts and we'll have more going on with new damage," Foster said. "The only difference tonight is the tornadoes may not have been on the ground as long" as Sunday. Today the region will get a break from twisters, but not from rain.

The potential for tornadoes descending on the ravaged region returns on Thursday, when a series of upper-level storm systems are expected to slam into an unstable, moist air mass hovering over the Ozarks, Foster said. Tuesday night, meteorologists scrambled to keep up with reports of tornadoes in the Lake of the Ozarks region, Polk, Dallas, Laclede, Pulaski, Phelps, Morgan and Maries counties. Spotters reported seeing two twisters touch down Monett mentary roof cover during a thunderstorm. "If it's just pouring rain, it's just going to have to rain on us," said Morgan Teague, whose rural home was walloped by a tornado Sunday night. The basement home which sits largely underground is situated on the north side of Lawrence County ZZ between Aurora and Marionville, where a twister trounced everything above ground.

Joined by five people and three dogs, Teague hunkered in his bathroom Sunday night as his windows exploded with such force that tiny glass splinters lodged in his furniture. All was calm in a matter of min By Matt Wagner and Eric Eckert NEWS-LEADER Hurried attempts to cover tornado-ravaged roofs were futile against the fierce winds and pounding rain Tuesday night as the sequel to Sunday's tornadoes soaked southwest Missouri. Water and hail poured into the damaged houses striking another blow to already discouraged homeowners. "They say we could go through this all week. I don't like it," Fedra Baker said as she and her husband, Brady, took shelter under the carport at the First Baptist Church in Battlefield.

"These people are trying to put their lives back together. They DEAN CURTIS NEWS-LEADER Against an ominous sky, Dale Rector Jr. of Dale's Residential Roofing covers a roof on a house in Battlefield as storm clouds once again roll into the area. Residents were permitted to return to their homes at 5 p.m. Tuesday, and they had to move fast before rain fell.

A '( i ii i In in'MMMri lihiit utes, said Teague, who was relieved to see that his roof was largely iritactr' "They're thinking it picked up and sat right back down," said Dan," one of Teague's brothers. When lightning arced across the sky Monday night, the Teague brothers climbed onto the roof and began covering the damaged area with a rectangular sheet of black plastic. "It's pretty thin, and we didn't have it down as good last night," Victor, another of Teague's siblings, said Tuesday evening. "We used a hammer stapler." don need something like this." Ingenuity was the watchword Tuesday as tornado victims in the Ozarks used what little they had to keep themselves and their possessions dry during another round of indiscriminate thunderstorms packing high winds. In Battlefield, Kirk Meister and his family worked hastily to remove unscathed appliances as ominous storm clouds loomed overhead.

On a debris-covered stretch of Lawrence County ZZ between Aurora and Marionville, Morgan Teague covered his roof with a it 4 t'4 eled homes at 5 p.m., when the Greene County Sheriff's Department lifted an order to keep everyone out. Deputies and members of the Missouri National Guard blocked off streets and checked IDs during the day. They were keeping people out so heavy equipment and utility workers could get in to clear streets of debris and replace fallen power lines. "Everything went "pretty well," said Lt. Jim Arnott with the sheriff's department.

"We only had a report of one person that wasn't Billy Gates, a retired Springfield firefighter, looked at his front yard in dismay. He was upset because cleanup crews uprooted his sycamore and walnut trees and ruptured a water main. "They made a damn driveway out of my front yard," Gates said, pointing to the maze of tractor treads embedded in the fresh mud. "The incompetence I've seen since all this has been amazing. I can understand the martial law and the curfews, but this is ridiculous." Gates and his wife escaped the tornado Sunday night uninjured, but their home of 20 years was demolished.

Gates said it was painful to lose his house, but added he was thankful to be alive. "I've got two kids to live for," he said. "It's gonna take more than a tornado to get me." As residents arrived at their homes Tuesday evening, they jumped out of their cars and trucks and began sifting through the wreckage. "We're trying to beat the rain," said Kirk Meister, as he carried a mattress from the ruins of his two-story home. His wife, Kathryn, wiped down the oak armoire sitting along the west wall of the living room.

Sunday's twister toppled the brick dwelling and left the family of four homeless. They are now CHRISTINA OICKEN NEWS-LEADER In Monett, Mary Patrick delights in finding a "mill" (one-fifth of a penny) while digging through the wreckage of her sister's house. "Honey, sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying," Patrick said. hiii i nm mm' -rV VU -i Hi t'- ft the hallway. Dashing from the window to the hall, Luce grabbed pillows off the bed and dove on top of his family.

He braced himself tightly against the walls as the tornado tugged at his back. "The experience was unreal," Luce said before taking a long drag off a barely lit cigarette. "We literally said our goodbyes and expected to die. I was praying it would be quick and painless." As the sky grayed Tuesday afternoon, Luce said the recovery effort was nearing an end. And reports of severe thunderstorms charging in from the west didn't faze him a bit.

"Anybody who's lived in Missouri knows the weather always changes, but you can't live in fear," he said. Luce's property now resembles an army camp next to a bombed-out building. Inside a military-type tent are doughnuts, medicine and bottled water. A small fire outside is kept burning with refuse. "We're not quitters," he said.

"We're survivors. We ain't got time for crying. There's no time for sitting around and feeling sorry for yourself. "This is just a minor setback," he joked. "We needed a smaller place anyway." Dozens of companies throughout the region including Kmart, Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World and Wal-Mart donated materials and services.

"We've had people coming up to us constantly saying, 'What can I do to Crowder said. "And I put 'em to work." Brady and Fedra Baker sat on the cold concrete under the metal carport and played with the family's three dogs. "Ben was struck by lightning when he was 1 year old," Brady Baker said as he held onto his yellow labrador. "He don't like storms." The Bakers lost many belongings they had in a Battlefield storage facility, but their house on Sierra Street was spared. "All I know is I got me a prayer warrior for a wife," Brady Baker said.

"She was running around the house (Sunday night) praying for the Holy Ghost. We kept praying Psalm 91. That tornado jumped right over our home." STAYING POSITIVE The will to survive has also invigorated Jim Luce of Aurora. Upon seeing a funnel cloud tear through a treeline in the distance Sunday night, Luce yelled to his wife and 16-year-old son to get in CHRISTINA DICKEN NEWS-LEADER Morgan Teague (left) and his brother Dan Teague talk about how they put black plastic over the roof of Morgan's house on Lawrence County ZZ between Aurora and Marionville. The family got busy Tuesday afternoon after breezes became gusts, and the flimsy roof covering gave way.

Hearing on their radio that another storm system was headed for southwest Missouri, the Teague brothers devised a new strategy: nailing the plastic down with wooden slats. Now the cover is more secure, but it's far from airtight, Victor Teague said. "All it takes is one place to get a pocket (of air)," he noted. GOING HOME In Battlefield, residents were permitted to return to their lev- sheet of black plastic to protect against the elements. And north of Monett, 84-year-old widow Mildred Rausch and her sister, Mary Patrick, cleaned trinkets out of a closet at her decimated farmhouse as her nephew boarded up windows.

"She was lucky she had some stuff she could salvage, but there's not much," said Millie Schumacher, Rausch's friend. "Today, our priority is to get everything out in case it storms." Getting creative The Teague brothers admitted Tuesday evening there's no Plan if high winds peel back their rudi- DEAN CURTIS NEWS-LEADER DEAN CURTIS NEWS-LEADER Toto, a dog that was pictured in Monday's News-Leader, wandered into the yard of Larry and Stacy Krauck in Battlefield. They are trying to find the owner. Couple seeks home for dog after twister living in a motel until they figure out what to do. "My kids and my husband are OK, and that's all that matters," Kathryn Meister said as she swiped a rag across the rustic finish.

"Everything else is all material and that can be replaced." The tornado left wooden fence posts impaled in the dining-room walls. The two-car garage was obliterated. So was the second floor. "We call this our stairway to heaven," Kirk Meister said as he ascended the stairs to the top floor, where the only ceiling was the angry sky above. "My girl's room disappeared," he said as he peered into the yard, "but my deck is still there.

I built that thing to last." In Battlefield, Kirk Meister (center), his wife, Kathy; and his brother, Jim Dillard, move salvageable items out of what is left of their house after they were allowed back into the area. FAMILIES in NEED -j-j American Red Cross set up at lunch time," said First Baptist Families who lost their posses-i, a crisis center at the church. They volunteer Becky Crowder. "We're sions to the tornado sought shek had meals for the volunteers and here to help anyone who needs it." ter Tuesday night at the First Bap-! for the displaced families. Crowder said the volunteers and tist Church in Battlefield.

I "We probably served 200 people the donations have been inspiring. American Red Cross moves in to help families hit by tornadoes "V- Several mobile units are being established near affected areas so residents can get food and water. Disaster-relief donations needed in Ozarks By Eric Eckert NEWS-LEADER Battlefield After Sunday's tornado attack, Larry and Stacy Krauck have a new addition to their family a weary red dog they're calling Toto. "You can guess why we're calling him that," Larry Krauck said, referring to Dorothy's dog that rode the twister in the classic tale "The Wizard of Oz." "I think he was picked up by the tornado," he said. "His fur is all twisted and insulation is embedded in his skin." The Kraucks took the dog in after its picture ran in Monday's News-Leader.

"We're putting food and water in him trying to rehydrate him," Larry Krauck said as the dog rested on the couple's across the nation who are arriving in the area to help with disaster relief. Ozarks residents who wish to help with efforts are asked to contact the Red Cross office. Tuesday, about 30 members of Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster met to discuss what they could offer to the cleanup efforts in Battlefield, Pierce City, Stockton and Carl Junction, said Scott Emerson, state chair of the group. Some agencies, like the Salvation Army of Joplin, are already active, providing food, shelter and other assistance to storm victims. Groups will also help with distribution of shovels and gloves needed for debris removal.

Teams of Red Cross case workers have already ventured to Stockton with heavy rains and swirling winds Tuesday night. Clean water is essential in communities like Humansville, Stockton, Pierce City and Hurley, where boil orders have been issued locally or by the state, said Judy Dill, environmental specialist with the Department of Natural Resources. "When pressure is too low, contamination can sink back in," Dill said. "We don't have any unsafe samples. It's just a precaution to make sure it's OK before people start using it.

"If the system chlorinates, then it's protected. If it's not, then boil it." Samples have been taken from Humansville where water was On Monday and Tuesday, the Salvation Army of Joplin paid for about 3,000 meals for 1,400 people, said Capt. Gary Laws. "I've spent $12,000 so far," Laws said via cell phone from from a command post at the Carl Junction High School "I've got about $1300 in contributions so I'm starting to sweat it out a little bit" Haggerty noted volunteers and money are the keys to getting the region back on its feet. After all, people may not know what families who lost their homes really need, he said.

"Money always sounds pretty crass," he said. "Money allows us to let the client get what they need, not what someone else thinks they need." to survey the needs of residents there, Haggerty said. In coming weeks, other agencies, like Ozarks Food Harvest, will kick in with assistance to meet long-term needs like providing cleaning supplies. America's Second Harvest, a nationwide food distribution organization, is on standby to provide additional goods to Missouri. Some organizations will focus on furniture and clothing for families and money for rent.

"We've set the stage for a very stable, long-term community support effort," Emerson said. On Tuesday, volunteers handed out hot meals and bottled water in decimated cities in southwest Missouri, which were also pounded restored Tuesday and Pierce City, but results have not been received, she said. Stockton has no water yet, but when it's turned on, residents are cautioned to boil it before drinking. In Carl Junction, Salvation Army volunteers bought cakes and toys for two 9-year-old children celebrating their birthdays in a command center at Carl Junction High School, said Capt Gary Laws. Officials will be in' Carl Junction at least 90 days io help the community pull itself out of wood, insulation, twisted metal and shingles.

As officials work to help the families, thoughts of additional operational costs hang over them like a cloud. agencies. The Salvation Army and some other agencies will accept donations of furniture and appliances, but not right now. Families must first have time to clear away debris from their leveled homes and find new places of residence before the items can be used. Officials at the Salvation Army in Joplin ask that people who want to donate these larger items call the local office at 624-4528.

The items will be placed on a list that will help officials match disaster victims' needs with donations. on Saturday. Donations will stay in the communities where collected. For more information, contact your local post office. Donations of nonperishable food, bottled water, cleaning supplies and personal hygiene products are also desperately needed by agencies like the Salvation Army in Joplin.

Ozarks Food Harvest and food pantries in areas devastated by Sunday night's powerful storm cells. The American Red Cross is accepting cash donations only. Cash donations are welcome at all The 11th annual nationwide postal workers food drive this year will benefit tornado victims. It will be held Saturday by the National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 203. Nonperishable food will be collected from mailboxes and at post offices in Springfield, Aurora, Branson, Bolivar, Mount Vernon, Republic, Waynesville, West Plains and other communities.

No glass items will be accepted. The Dillons supermarkets at 1707 W. Battlefield Road or 2843 E. Sunshine St. will also accept donations for disaster victims case workers.

The southwest Missouri centers are not yet open. Missouri's first service center will open at noon today in Kansas City. "Because the tornadoes are so widespread, there are a number of areas where there really aren't places for people to congregate," Haggerty said Tuesday. "Outreach teams will go out to look for victims, meeting with them in homes or wherever we find them and doing exactly the same thing as in the service center." Haggerty is also setting up a volunteer center in Springfield for the 400 Red Cross associates from By Angela Wilson NEWS-LEADER Victims of Sunday night's twisters and storms need food, water, shelter, clothing, even hugs and likely will for the next several months. And it's down to one man to coordinate the efforts of relief agencies working to meet those needs.

American Red Cross Disaster Relief Operations Director Al Hagger-ty arrived on Tuesday to establish service centers in Springfield and Joplin, where families can go to receive immediate assistance and discuss their long-term needs with Toto front porch. "We think he's 10 to 12 years old. The Kraucks said several people have recognized the dog, but nobody knows the real owner. "If nobody claims him, we're gonna keep him," Larry Krauck said. For more information about the dog, call 872-6982..