Baxter Bulletin from Mountain Home, Arkansas • 1

1l Storm leaves 3 person ediwsmiY Pictures of destruction from Monday's tornado Page 3A dead in Marion County Page 2A ft (flBto i I. PRICE 25C A Multimedia Newspaper VOL. 84 NO. 259 Member of Associated Press MOUNTAIN HOME, ARKANSAS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1981 deaths Tornado leaves devastation, but no ii 1 I -Tli i 1 iASj iafe '-oat -V y- r- into place on Highway 201 South between what remained of Pleasant Mill Lumber and Timber and Champion Boats. The line dangled just above the roadway and police kept that section of the road closed off throughout the day.

Persons who live in the area along Highway 201 had to find alternate routes to get home. An crew from Little Rock was dispatched to Mountain Home to assist in getting the poles back into place and raising the power line. By about 5 p.m., Highway 201 was reopened to traffic. North Arkansas Electric Cooperative, assisted by work crews from Salem, had power restored to its customers by 4: 20 p.m. Tuesday, according to Zane Richmond.

Power had been interrupted on U.S. Highway 62 East to Gamaliel and as far south as Highway 5 South, Richmond said. A short period of interruption was experienced by other NAEC customers Tuesday between 9 and 10 p.m. Schools open today Mountain Home schools will be in session today after being closed Tuesday after the tornado tore off the roof of the junior high gymnasium and caused damage to at least three rooms at the kindergarten. Superintendent Al Hunter said engineers will be visiting the area today to assess the damage, which Hunter estimated at between $50,000 and $100,000 to the gymnasium alone.

Basketball players and spectators alike missed being in the building during the storm by less than an hour. A junior high girls basketball game between Moun- tain Home and Cotter ended about 8: 15 p.m., and a busload of Moun-' tain Home junior high boys turned from a basketball gameit Mountain View about 10:30 p.rn. The tornado hit shortly after 9:20 p.m. Junior high principal Jan Gott said the building is ready for school, if there is electrical power. The library will be closed for a while, but all the books are safe, she said.

Teachers and other volunteers were at the school early Tuesday morning, the principal said, working to clean up the school. Mrs. Gott had a special word of thanks for high school student Herbie Vogel for his help. Storm's path Damage from the storm was not limited to Mountain Home. According to Guy Jones, the county Office of Emergency Services coordinator, the twister first set down when it crossed the White River south of Cotter and traveled (See TORNADO on page 10A) By THOMAS GARRETT Associate Editor With another storm front and freezing temperatures on the way, the people of Mountain Home began picking up the pieces of their homes and lives Tuesday in the wake of a twister which heavily damaged at least 75 homes, businesses and the Mountain Home Junior High School.

No serious injuries were reported in Baxter County, although three people were treated for storm-related injuries at Baxter County Regional Hospital and released. The three, all of Mountain Home, were Tammy Whitehead, 23; Brandon Whitehead, IV2; and Anthony Hicks, 15. "It's just a miracle and the grace of God that Baxter County didn't have multiple injuries," said Cliff Gale of the Red Cross. Two Marion County men who were injured when the storm passed through that county were initially treated at Central Ozarks Medical Center in Yellville and transferred to BCRH. They later were transferred to University Hospital in Little Rock.

Tom Erwin, 69, of Flippin was listed in fair condition Tuesday afternoon with a fractured right leg, according to Marcia Hines of University Hospital. Walter Burrow, 79, of Yellville was reported in stable condition and undergoing surgery at 4 p.m. Tuesday for facial lacerations, according to Hines. 'It's a mess' Mountain Home Mayor Ron Pierce said there was no way to set a dollar estimate for the havoc wrought by Monday night's tornado, although he did say it probably would be "in the millions." "It's a mess out there," said the mayor at a city hall press conference Tuesday morning. Throughout the day, people sifted through the debris.

Some began repairs on their homes, others gathered belongings from what remained of their houses. The buzz of chainsaws filled the air as fallen trees were cleared away from streets and lawns all along the tornado's path and around its edges. Arkansas Power Light Co. had 15 to 18 crews working Tuesday to restore power, according to Jim Flippin of who said there were many downed lines and poles in the east and southeast part of town, "near the junior high and the fairgrounds." Flippin said he expects power to be restored to the Highway 5 South area and the area near Briarwood apartments today. spent most of the day trying to get a main power cable back i urn ''bJ overturned mobile home also crushed her car.

BulletinGarrett Novell Thompson carries items away from her mobile home, which was turned upside down at Oak Tree Trailer Park; the Tornado's toll apparent in daylight; survivors tell of 'terrifying ordeal' By THOMAS GARRETT Associate Editor workers, "and we don't wan't to be in here when it hits." Fortunately, when the second storm hit it wasn't as bad as Monday's. Over on Highway 5, the twister expended a large amount of its energy on what seems to be one of a tornado's worst targets mobile homes. Oak Tree Trailer Park, the sight of flooding earlier this year, was one of the more severely hit areas in the city. Trailers were shoved off their foundations, awnings and parts of roofs were torn away. At least two were overturned.

Novell Thompson's mobile home was rolled over her car, which had been parked behind the trailer. Indicating a gaping hole in the trailer, she said "I came right out through there. I don't know how, but I did." Mrs. Thompson said she had been in the bathroom when the trailer rolled over. A washing machine and chest of drawers came down on her, she said.

A passerby helped her out and other rescuers pulled her poodle from beneath a bed. She had found a place to stay. Across from Mrs. Thompson's was the home of Harley and Velma Brown. They were out Tuesday trying to find an apartment while their daughter, Linda Napier, collected their belongings.

The roof over the front bedroom was torn off, said Mrs. Napier. She said her parents were inside (See AFTERMATH on Page 10A) bending its sides under their weight. Jan Kasinger, the mother of two toddlers, lives in a home near the demolished fairgrounds. Although she was fortunate that her home was only minimally damaged, she and her sons had some moments of fear.

Sat on floor "We all sat on the floor in the hall with a blanket over our heads," she said. "But when it was all over, Matthew (her 2-year-old) didn't want to come out" The recycling center adjacent to the fairgrounds provided one of the examples of the unusual nature of tornadoes. Its roof was gone, two sides were missing, yet cardboard crates stored inside the building remained neatly stacked, barely moved by the tremendous force it took to destroy the building. Central Ready Mix's concrete plant also fell victim to the ferocity of the storm. Part of its roof had been torn away and twisted, walls on either side were blown out.

Hiram Byrd, the company's owner, was at his shop with his crew trying to save what was left inside the building. Byrd, who with his family was scheduled to leave for a vacation to Florida Tuesday, was warned that afternoon that another storm was headed for Mountain Home. "There's another one cqming in two hours," he called to his roofless home for what seemed like "a long time." When the tornado had passed, she called for help. "I screamed like a panther," she said, "but nobody could get out to help me." Her main concern, however, was for her cats. "I was looking for my kitty cats," she said.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Simonis, who live nearby, came to Mrs. Jensen's rescue. Driving through the neighborhood to check on damage and to see if their neighbors were all safe, the Simonises heard her screams and took her in their car.

Mrs. Jensen finally spent the night with some neighbors. All four of her cats also are safe. Fairgrounds damage At the Baxter County Fairgrounds, it looked as though some giant had stomped his way across the midway, scattering buildings and trees as he made his way through it. The Kiwanis concession stand had been lifted from its concrete foundation and crushed like a beer can.

The roof of the poultry building had been smashed in. Only part of the commercial exhibit hall stood. Workers from Sheid's were busy removing what remained of mattresses, carpeting and other items which had been stored in it. Worst of all, the Casey house, one of the county's historic structures, lay in nuns. Its roof was gone, scattered by the wind.

Trees lay across the century-old house, In the harsh light of day, the toll of Monday night'sLjornado appeared tremendous) Throughout the southeastern part of Mountain Home, from the county fairgrounds to a trailer court, evidence of nature's fury could be found scattered across the landscape. A drive through the area was like a drive through a combat zone. Houses with their roofs ripped away, exposing all their contents to the elements, looked as though they'd been shelled. Sheet, metal hung from trees, was wrapped around trees and lay twisted in yards and ditches. Insulation torn from houses clung to bushes and limbs, making them look like cotton plants after a picker had stripped most of the bolls away.

"We've got our lives, but we ain't got much else," said Roger Womack, whose 13th Street home was totaled by the tornado. The roof was completely gone. Most of one neighbor's roof also had been torn away in the storm. But another neighbor's home stood untouched with a travel trailer in the drive. Womack said the trailer hadn't budged when the tornado passed through.

Womack and his wife Sue had sought safety on the floor of their hallway while the twister yanked the roof off their home. Mrs. Womack said it "sounded like all the nails were coming out of it" "This was a terrifying ordeal." said Womack. Gym looked bombed Across the street from the Womack home, it looked as if the junior high gymnasium had been bombed. Support beams of what remained of the gym's roof stood starkly against the sky like skeletal remains.

The weight room at the back of the gym had crumbled into a pile of red brick. AH the windows along one wall of the school had been blasted out and workers were replacing the glass with plywood panels. Josephine Jensen, 65, a widow who lives by herself, credited her "psychic" ability with saving her from injury when the tornado ripped through the front of her home on 12th Street. "I'm usually in the front watching television." she said, "but somehow I felt different I felt that I shouldn't be in here. Something drove me to go in the back." Mrs.

Jensen was left alone inher City, sanitation company agree on debris pickup The city and Sanitation Inc. have reached an agreement for the pick up of debris left in the city from Monday's storm. will deliver dumpsters free of charge for use in neighborhoods where debris cleanup is required. Residents who need a dumpster should call city hall at 425-5116, according to Phebe Ripka, mayor's secretary. Distribution of the dumpsters will begin today.

The city will pay for pickup of the trash, she said. The city will be screening all calls, and not each person will get a dumpster, Mrs. Ripka said. Rather a dumpster will be provided for each neighborhood, she added. Mrs.

Ripka said the only requirement is that citizens must confine the trash to the dumpster. The lid must be kept shut. If there is any tin roofing or large debris which will not fit in the dumpster, it will be picked up at a later date, she said. According to Mrs. Ripka, has also extended its hours at the landfill.

They will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. cannot pick up all the debris with the regular garbage truck, Mrs. Ripka said. Mountain Home Mayor Ron Pierce has agreed to let the larger trucks which can pick up dumpsters to operate on the city streets during the cleanup, she said.

When the dumpsters get full, residents may call at 425-3213. Mrs. Ripka said the city and RIAH are cooperating on this issue and they hope it will not be abused. A v. Inside Horoscope 6-C Legal Notices 9-A Obituaries 8-A Sports 1-2-B 2-A Ann Landers 8-C Business News 9-A 7-8-9-1 0-C Comics 6-C Editorials -A TODAY'S WEATHER: Mostly sunny and cool with a high in the lower 50s.

Northeast wind at 10 to 15 mph. The historic Casey house, one of the oldest the roof wes blown away and trees were homes in the county and one which is on the blown onto it. National Registry, suffered heavy damage; BulletinGarrett.