The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • A11

THE TENNESSEAN RUTHERFORD TORNADOES LOSS SUNDAY, APRIL 12, 2009 11A REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK In tornado, minister clings to tree, God .9 Cr d. 41. al rli 4 411' e.1.,-"'L'i -4 Lr' 'It 4' slt .1, 4..44 4 07 11114i. Ilk 1. '--51'-' .4 .1116, 0 --I '41-, jb, to 111 41I till.

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k''', -e-'''. 'IR 7 Fund set up for family of dead woman, baby A fund has been set up on behalf of the Bryant family after Kori Bryant and 9-week-old daughter Olivia were killed in Friday's tornado. Donations can be made to the John Bryant Family fund at any Bank of America branch. John Bryant, Kori's widower, remains in critical condition at Middle Tennessee Medical Center. As he cltmg to a tree in fear of his life, David Young crammed a two-hour conversation with God into 15 seconds.

Yotmg, a minister for North Boulevard Church of Christ, was nmning on the greenway off Thompson Lane about noon when the lightning and hail started. "1 heard the train coming," Young said. "1 wrapped my arms around a tree and curled up." Suddenly he was in the middle of it, and trees were falling and flying through the air. His legs went out from under him, and he was sent back to the ground. "When the back wall of the tornado hit me, it knocked at least two trees on me, they caught all the debris and probably saved my life," Young said.

"That tree 1 was holding onto was the only thing standing." MEALAND RAGLAND-HUDGINS, Gannett Tennessee A memorial stands near the remains of the home of John and Kori Bryant as workers clear debris Saturday in Murfreesboro. Kori and the couple's 9-weekold-daughter, Olivia, died in Friday's tornado. MARK HUMPHREY ASSOCIATED PRESS GANNETT TENNESSEE Man knows meaning of survival N. .1 ,,,,,4 r. 1, II kt'l IV 5.

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She couldn't reach her father, Doug Dennis. Her mother, Cathy, was not at home at the time. Scott's home was spared, so she let her two children nap. But her father, Doug Dennis, called saying the tornado was on path to strike 1437 Tomahawk Trace. The nervousness in his voice troubled her.

It took Sarah Scott nearly two hours to reach her parents' home. Usually, it takes just minutes. What the tornado did was surreal. "It blew everything to smithereens," she said as she walked along the neighborhood with her digital camera. "I look up at the house and the only thing I see is my children's pack-and-play upstairs." Dennis hid in a little half bathroom that was next to the wall and staircase of the house, Scott says.

He survived, the same way he survived advanced colon cancer and liver cancer, she said. CHRIS ECHEGARY, The Tennessean Cheryl Cosco cries as she picks through the rubble of her home, looking for her father's ring that she left on the bathroom vanity. She was one of many Murfreesboro residents searching for family items after Friday's tornado. PHOTOS BY LARRY MCCORMACK THE TENNESSEAN Families search for keepsakes UNIJ 0111001 --------1 rirragill.I101.21.1"3141 .1 1 irusilm-al HOt 1 .,,4.11...,,,, 1. A ft.t.,,,--i,,010.

0 I 1.4,!-,;;'-,. 1 .1 i'. 7, ''''j .1 '4 Ir'-. 1 4.4Vi;P:'' 1. 1.: 1 3 People sift through rubble a day after tornado's terror By Jana Ross THE TENNESSEAN k---; 1 i Ar 4- 4, If, 1 7 TA- 'fri 4 fr, Riverview Drive for three years.

This is the house where the words "Faith Hope Love" were painted on the wall above their daughter's bed before she went to college. A home where a pint-sized dog named Patch and a portly dog named Freckles are considered part of the family. During the last two years, Chris Bloebaum had painstakingly worked on renovating the house, adding a second story. It only took the wind a few minutes to shred his work. Insulation, lights, even shelves and moldings, were dripping from the house.

The Christmas-like smell of cut pine trees and the gasoline fumes from active chainsaws hung in the air as Jenny Bloebaum surveyed the damage. She anticipates the home will be declared a total loss. The mature trees that once defined the neighborhood won't return to their size or splendor in her lifetime. Still, she appeared relatively calm. There were no tears.

There were even moments of levity when Freckles took the rare opportunity to get on the couch still parked in the family's now sky-roofed living room. "If nothing else, we went through yesterday and got the quilts, the baby and the wedding said Bloebaum. Her voice started to waver. "Besides my husband, the kids and the dogs, that's what we really need from this house to be whole." MURFREESBORO On Saturday, Cheryl Cosco shifted between crying and digging through the bricks, bushes, pieces of wooden cabinetry, drywall and even a bathtub that spilled out of her family's Highland Park Road home. Friday's tornado parked one of their boats in a tree and made kindling of the bathroom vanity, where she had left her father's wedding band.

"My father's ring was out because I had worn it the other day. And it's probably under all this somewhere" said Cosco, between a stream of tears. Then, with her head in her glove-covered hand she explained why she would look so hard for a ring in the rubble. "I don't have my parents anymore, so it's just a small little simple thing I really wanted. It's something I need." Cosco and other storm survivors spent much of the day sifting through their crumbled homes, searching for the renmants of their lives.

Their personal belongings were scattered all around, as if they had been shaken like grains of salt from a shaker. Cosco kept looking. Husband, kids, dogs all she needs A few miles away, Jenny Bloebaum stood outside the renmants of her Riverview Drive house, waiting for an insurance agent. The Bloebaums have lived in the neighborhood for nearly 20 years and in the house on Red Cross volunteer Carla Goff picks up water to distribute throughout Murfreesboro on Saturday. LARRY MCCORMACK THE TENNESSEAN Family photos lay in the foreground as Andy Bloebaum looks through the wreckage of his home a day after a tornado roared through Murfreesboro.

The only toy belonging to her four children that she could clearly identify in the rubble was her daughter's baby stroller, under the dining room table. A metal backyard shed and a camping trailer were reduced to metal ribbons and wrapped mostly around a backyard tree. The trailer had been used for a lot of family trips. But, she said it was one small thing that had also been the bright spot of the morning. "This," Inmon said pointing to her diamond engagement ring, found in the remains of the house Saturday morning.

"I've got it." Her husband spent four to five hours looking for the ring among the ruins. His relentless search meant more to his wife than the actual find. "Considering how he looked for it, it reminds me of what I've really got." Staff Writer Jana Ross can be reached at 615-726-5982 or irossltennessean.com Rubberneckers slow recovery Engagement ring found in rubble Back on Highland Park Road, Laura Inmon reflected on the impermanence of things and how little good it would do to be upset about all that the family lost. The left and right sides of their house were stripped to the studs and fotmdation. WANT TO HELP? rate information to callers.

If there's trouble getting through, try 269-HELP (4357). Officials shut down a tornado-damaged portion of Sulphur Springs Road on Saturday, in part because "there is so much rubbernecking," said Ram Balachandran, a traffic engineer with the city of Murfreesboro. "If you don't live there or have business being there, please don't use it," said Balachandran, noting traffic is making it harder for utility crews to restore power and emergency responders to assist the areas. Sulphur Springs access will be blocked from Haynes Drive to Irongate Boulevard. City officials also urge sightseeing drivers to stay away from other tornado-affected streets.

Balachandran said tornado areas to avoid are Haynes Drive from Thompson Lane to Memorial Boulevard, Osborne Lane from Memorial Boulevard to Emery Lane, Thompson Lane from Northwest Broad Street to Haynes Drive and Medical Center Parkway from Interstate 24 to Thompson Lane. SCOTT BRODEN, Gannett Tennessee Donate to victims Pinnacle National Cason Lane, Murfreesboro, has opened a special account for victims of the storm. Call 615- 893:1234 for information. Salvation Army To help financially, visit www.salvationarmyusa.org or mail checks to 631 Dickerson Road, Nashville, TN 37207 and put "Murfreesboro disaster" in the memo line. Donate to Red Cross The Nashville Area Chapter of the American Red Cross has opened two Murfreesboro shelters.

The Red Cross also will provide mobile feeding and mental health support to those affected by the storm, said spokeswoman Beth Ferguson. She said the best way to help through their agency is to donate financially to the Heart of Tennessee chapter in Murfreesboro by calling 615-893-4272 or visiting www.midtnredcross.org. You can donate to the Red Cross at any Kroger store, where your donation will go to the fund for the Middle Tennessee tornado recovery. Register your group United Way 2-1-1, Middle Tennessee's referral help line, is extending its hours to assist those wanting to get or give help. Agencies, churches and civic groups offering relief or coordinating volunteer efforts are encouraged to call 2-1-1 to get listed in the database so the agency can get accu Drop off food items Food items may be dropped off at Second Harvest Food Bank boxes located at area Kroger stores..