Reading Kansas Tornado

R E A D I N G T O R N A D O 2 0 1 1

T E G

R E A C T I N G • R E C O V E R I N G • R E B U I L D I N G

THE EMPORIA GAZETTEPage 2 Wednesday, June 29, 2011

May 21, 2011 is a night that Reading residents will never forget.

The EF-3 tornado that tore diagonally through town destroyed much of the community, however what was not destroyed was the community’s spirit to survive.

In a little over a month there are signs of progress. Hundreds of volunteers have helped clean up the

town, buildings have been knocked down, lots leveled and what was left standing is being repaired. Countless supplies have been donated and more than $100,000 has been donated to help the fi-nancial needs of residents.

From the T-ball games to the Reading Rebuild festival these are signs of progress.

But we cannot forget Don Chesmore who lost his life in the storm. And for the families who lost everything, the process to rebuild will be slow.

This magazine is a compilation of stories and photographs by Em-poria Gazette staff reporting on the tornado. We hope that on these pages you see hope, progress and Reading residents pulling together for a bright future.

Chris Walker

Editor & Publisher

PROGRESS & HOPE

Newsroom: Jeremy Shapiro • Brandy Nance • Monica Springer • Regina Murphy • Bobbi MlynarPhotographers: Matthew Fowler • Matt Bristow • Kellen JenkinsProduction: Dallas Sedgwick • Margie McHaley • Dan Ferrell • Justin Ogleby • Bradley Rice Special Thanks to Dr. Steve Haught and John Mallon for providing airplane and pilot services for aerial photography.

Thank you to all the advertisers for making this magazine possible.

GAZETTE STAFF COVERING READING:

Walker

The emporia gazeTTeWednesday, June 29, 2011 Page 3

Here to help with your rebuilding supplies:

• Siding • Shingles• Windows • Deck Materials• Doors • Lumber• Paint • Free Estimates

Free delivery to the tornado victims in the Reading area

LUMBER

825 East 6thEmporia, KS(620) 342-0218

We will be here in the future, ready to serveyour family’s needs with the same quality service

you have come to expect from us.

Roberts - Blue - BarnettFUNERAL HOME

J. MICHAEL TURNBULL605 State St. • Emporia, KS

620-342-2134

Editor’s notE: Originally published on May 23, 2011

By Jeremy Shapiro

[email protected]

rEAdinG — Not a single inch of Read-ing was spared from a Saturday evening EF-3 tornado, which shredded buildings, flipped over cars, tore down trees and killed a man.

“This was overwhelming,” said Lyon County Sheriff Jeff Cope. “It’s something you don’t want to see happen ever again.”

The damage is heavy but some build-ings are in better shape than others. Among the hardest hit was the grain el-evator, post office, senior center and The Miracle Cafe. The school, bank and fire station all suffered some damage, but ap-pear to be largely intact.

Many houses weren’t that lucky.“A silo is now sitting on my grand-

parents’ home,” said Shawn McGee. “It went through my living room and dining room and then landed on their

house next to us.”Don Chesmore, a 53-year-old Read-

ing man, was killed during the storm in his mobile home on the east side of town. Cope said the mobile home flipped upside down.

Five people were injured during the storm but all have been treated and ap-pear to be physically fine. All residents are accounted for.

Lyon County Commission Chairman Scott Briggs, who is a lifelong Reading resident, said they were fortunate the number of injuries was not higher.

Briggs issued a local disaster decla-ration shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday. He said that will start the clock running for possible funding. He expects the storm will take a huge financial toll.

“It will be a huge amount of money, but that’s just money,” he said. “Our thoughts are with the people affected by this and the people who lost their loved one.”

rEAdinG dEvAstAtEd

Please see Devastated, page 4

Kellen JenKins/Gazette

residents survey the damage Sunday afternoon done by the tornado that moved through the town the night before.

the emporia gazettePage 4 Wednesday, June 29, 2011

2326 Industrial Rd(Across from Super Walmart)Emporia, KS 66801620-340-0880 • No Appointments RequiredM-F: 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. • Sat: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.Sun: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

For the month of July - 10% of all sales willbe donated to the United Way of the Flint Hills’ Reading Tornado Relief Fund.A cash donation box will be in the salon duringJuly and any cash donations will be matched by Great Clips as well.

Our goal is to raise $3,000 for the United Way of the Flint Hills’ Reading Tornado Relief Fund!!

Great Needs Great Deeds.®

Great Clips® Charities

Reading is a town of 247 residents about 19 miles northeast of Emporia.

About 50 Reading residents Sunday morning were already assessing damage and starting to clean up their homes and yards.

“Everyone is here and we are all pitch-ing in,” said Reta Jackson, owner of The Miracle Cafe. “We’ve been working so hard on Reading, on getting it cleaned up and making it nice. It’s going to take a lot of work but we will be here.”

Westar officials are continuing to try to restore electricity in town. There is no run-ning water. The water tower sprung a leak so there is no fresh water, Briggs said.

An overwhelming response The National Weather Service reports

that the tornado was an EF-3 with wind speeds up to 165 mph.

Cope said the tornado struck Reading at 9:15 p.m. Saturday causing large scale damage to the city. Emergency officials said 37 structures were destroyed and 200 more in and around Reading were dam-aged.

“Our condolences go out to the fami-lies who are suffering from the loss of the homes,” Cope said.

Cope said first responders quickly ar-

rived from Lyon County, Osage County, Coffey County, Chase County and the City of Emporia.

“We had an overwhelming response,” he said.

Emergency personnel finished up the last stages of search and recovery and opened the city back up to residents shortly after noon Sunday. Residents were allowed to stay until 6 p.m. They returned about 9 a.m. this morning.

“People of Reading had a lot of notice pri-or to the tornado threatening,” Cope said. “The tornado first touched down about 2 miles north of Emporia and touched down off and on. It came down on Road X.”

Cope said everything was hit from K-170 south to the railroad tracks, which is three blocks.

A total of 19 people were taken to a shelter in Emporia Saturday night by L-CAT or private vehicles. The American Red Cross set up a shelter at the Senior Citizens Center in Emporia for residents Sunday evening.

Reading residents had 15 minute warn-ing. Emergency officials thanked the me-dia for getting the word out. If it wasn’t for that, more people may have died or been hurt, Briggs said.

“I’m grateful there wasn’t much life lost here, but a lot of lives have been affected,” said Rep. Peggy Mast (R-Emporia).

Can Reading be rebuilt?Rep. Willie Prescott (R-Osage City)

said it’s hard enough to make it in small towns anyway.

“To think you can ever rebuild is out of the question,” he said. “Rebuilding without assistance is totally out of the question. We’ve seen what’s happening in Greensburg. Can we expect that? No. Can we hope for it? Yes.”

That being said, Prescott acknowledged farm communities have an inner strength. He said people are resillent and don’t let doubters stand in their way.

Mast said Kansans understand torna-dos are a way of life in this state. Kansans are so resilient to respond to the needs of one another, she said.

“People are coming out, helping one another and trying to restore life as they know it as quickly as possible,” she said. “The pain is there and it’s going to take a lot of time to adapt to the changes.”

Mast said she hopes the National Guard will assist with the clean-up. In the past there has been some state disaster fund-ing available. This year with the tight state budget, Mast is less sure about funding.

“The state will be looking at this,” she said.

Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli, director of the Kansas Division of Emergency Manage-ment, arrived in Reading Sunday to assess the damage. He has sent state resources to help.

“The state of Kansas is here to help the people of Reading and Lyon County offi-cials as they make sure everyone is cared

for and kept safe,” he said. “We will pro-vide whatever help we can to accomplish that goal and start the community on the road to recovery.”

Gov. Sam Brownback took an aerial tour of the damage this morning.

Brownback declared a state of emer-gency after the storms.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim and everyone impact-ed by this storm,” Brownback said.“This state declaration paves the way for the state to assist the counties with resources and to seek federal assistance if the dam-ages qualify.”

A Facebook page has been set up where residents are communicating and posting their conditions.

An animal shelter is set up at the Lyon County Fairgrounds in Emporia for lost pets recovered from the area. Represen-tatives from the Kansas State Animal Re-sponse Team are on site to care for the animals until they can be picked up by the owners.

Black Heart’s House of Art collected water and various supplies. As of 3:45 p.m. Sunday they had collected 3,066 items.

The Red Cross is collecting donations by calling (785) 234-0568. You can also donate online at www.thinkred.org.

Financial donations to The Salvation Army may be made by texting the word ARMY to 90999 (automatic $10 donation) or by calling 1-800-SAL-ARMY. Material donations aren’t needed at this time.

devastatedFrom PAGE 3


Lyon County “COAD”“Communities Activated In Disaster”

Lyon County “COAD”“Communities Activated In Disaster”

Serving Emporia, KS and the area with THE BEST music from the 70's thru today @96.1

on your FM dial.

96 one The Wave would like to thank Mike Dorcey,

of our staff, and all the volunteers for their

tireless efforts to help the residents of Reading.


By Jeremy Shapiro

[email protected]

Stunned, bewildered and gloomy were some of the words Reading residents and their family members used to describe how they felt about the condition of their homes and property after Saturday’s tornado.

Most residents were on the one hand thankful to be alive and know no harm occurred to their family, friends and neighbors. On the other hand, they were shocked at the level of destruction.

Jill Scales considers herself lucky. She has walls still up.

“My other family members lost every-thing,” she said. “There’s nothing left of my brother’s trailer. My mother lost her home as well.”

The Scales family rode out the storm in Doug Scales’ homemade storm shelter. Doug and Linda are Jill’s parents.

“After it passed my dad opened the door and said ‘You are not going to be-lieve this,’” Jill Scales said. “We could see

what had happened when there was light-ning. The kids were screaming. The dog was afraid to leave his doghouse.”

Scales said she has lived in Reading since 1986. Until Saturday she had never had to go into a storm shelter.

She doesn’t have insurance. Her brother, Mike, and her parents are talk-ing about rebuilding.

“We’re going to just take it one step at a time,” she said.

Michele LaFave was in Emporia when the storm arrived. She nervously waited un-til it cleared and then came with her par-ents, Paul and Ruth Gutierrez, to see what damage there was.

“We couldn’t see well in the dark but we knew it was bad,” Ruth Gutierrez said. “We’re hesitant to even see what it looks like during daytime.”

LaFave’s son was fine, but two of her cats were missing.

“She is just devastated,” Ruth said. “She’s hoping it’s salvageable but doubt-ing it. She’s a single parent who just got her house paid off.”

LaFave works in accounts receivable at Dolly Madison.

“She worked hard to pay off the mort-

gage,” Ruth said. Shawn McGee along with family and

friends were enjoying a Saturday evening in Emporia until news spread about a tor-nado hitting their hometown.

“We hauled over as soon we could,” McGee said.

The results were predictable but tough

to take nonetheless. McGee’s house was heavily damaged as was his grandparents home.

His mother, Ivy Woods, rode out the storm in a GMC Yukon. McGee said two other vehicles hit Woods during the tor-nado. She went to the hospital but was treated and released, McGee said.

‘you arE not going to bEliEvE this’

“We could see what had happened when there was lightning. The kids were screaming. The dog was afraid to leave his doghouse.”

Matt Bristow/Gazette

This home suffered severe damage in the may 21 tornado.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Health Care for Generations

Looking for a physician that fits your health care needs? Internal Medicine is accepting new patients.

Call for your appointment today. 620-342-2521

1301 West 12th Ave.Suite 202

Emporia, KS 66801

James M. Geitz, M.D. Brock Kretsinger, D.O. Tim Duncan, M.D. Rachel A. Duncan, M.D. Ever I. Ponciano, M.D.

The Internal Medicine Associates physicians and staff express our support and encouragement to the town of Reading as they rebuild. We thank the many volunteers who have given their time and resources to help the community.

the emporia gazettePage 6


By Jeremy Shapiro

[email protected]

Don Chesmore was known by many in Reading. He was known as a good neigh-bor, a good man and a man who served his country.

Chesmore was killed when his mobile home flipped upside down during Satur-day’s tornado, which was rated an EF-3. He was 53.

‘Good neighbor and good man’

Bo Bahnmaier was Chesmore’s neigh-bor and they worked together in Lebo. Bahnmaier sold the lot to Chesmore where he and his wife lived. The two worked together at Dream Works Homes in Lebo. Chesmore did stain and trim work and was real good at both, Bahn-maier said.

“He was a good neighbor and a good man,” Bahnmaier said. “He would help you out in a heartbeat.”

Bahnmaier said Chesmore loved to hunt.

“He lived to go hunting,” Bahnmaier said. “He had big mounts and was really dedicated to it. He was a die-hard sports-man. He had three or four bird dogs.”

Bahnmaier said Chesmore was really excited about an elk hunt in New Mexico. He said he talked for months about it. He came back with some elk.

“He had a big ol’ mount up,” Bahn-maier said.

Ariel Brecheisen, Bahnmaier’s grand-daughter, was looking for Chesmore’s cats on Tuesday. She saw one scurry under the trailer but it ran off before she could get to it.

“It crushed me when I heard about Don,” she said.

those left behindHe was born on July 12, 1957, in Coun-

cil Bluffs, Iowa, the son of Osia Tryon and Ruth Evelyn Tedford Chesmore. He mar-ried Lavonda Hughs on Dec. 18, 1993. She survives.

Other survivors in addition to their son, Charlie, include: a daughter Nicole Lutz of Topeka; seven grandchildren; a brother, Robert Chesmore, Augusta, Mont.; and sisters, Kathryn Chambers, Soldier, Iowa, Debora Mareska, Emporia, and Janet Drake, Griswold, Iowa.

Hunter, veteran, workerChesmore was a hunter and handled

the maintenance at the senior center in Osage City. He was a member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Wild Turkey Federation, the National Rifle As-sociation and the North American Hunt Club.

He also served in the United States

Army and the United States National Guard.

MemorialA memorial fund has been established.

Contributions to the Donald Chesmore Memorial Fund may be sent in care of the funeral home, PO Box 175, Emporia, KS 66801. Messages to the family may be left at www.roberstblue.com.

CHEsMorE: a Good nEiGHbor , Good Man


this aerial photo shows the path of the eF-3 tornado that hit reading may 21.


2815 W. Hwy 50 • Emporia KS620-343-6723 • 800-416-6723www.emporiamotors.com

2011 Toyota Camry LE

Super mileage, sporty appearance, MP3 player compatible, equipped with the 5 start safety system including smart stop technology, 2 years of Toyota Care complimentary maintenance.

2011 Toyota Corolla S

2011 Toyota Sienna LE

Reading community, we are thinking of you.

HERE To HELp you wiTHyouR auTomoTivE nEEdS!

Smooth ride, spacious interior, great gas mileage, one of the safest cars on the road, equipped with the 5 start safety system including smart stop technology, 2 years of Toyota Care complimentary maintenance.

7 or 8 passenger seating, new sportier design for 2011, rearview backup camera standard on V6, excellent re-sale value, equipped with the 5 start safety system including smart stop technology, 2 years of Toyota Care complimentary maintenance.


By Jeremy Shapiro

[email protected]

Rep. Willie Prescott (R-Osage City) said Sunday morning he already fielded a number of calls about the condition of The Miracle Cafe.

“People not from Reading, the first

question they have is how bad is the ca-fe,” he said.

The answer, unfortunately, is bad. The cafe appears to have suffered fairly heavy damage on the inside. With broken windows and trees down all around it, it looked nothing like it’s usual role of focal point of the city.

“It’s a hub, Friday night it’s packed,” said Reta Jackson, owner of The Miracle Cafe said. “We have it filled and have peo-

ple sit on picnic tables outside.”Jackson said they had a birthday party

for her grandson that ended at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

Jackson said when the sirens went off she was worried the mayor didn’t have a key to the Methodist church. Her hus-band brought a key to the church but it was already open.

Her husband returned home to their house south of town before the storm hit.

Jackson said they didn’t get any damage at home and everyone in her family was OK.

She said Sunday she was trying to sal-vage what she can to feed the emergency workers.

“We’ve got to keep the workers go-ing,” she said. “I went and got bottled water and bread and put all my meat in the freezer. “

‘ inspirational’ MiraclE cafE looks to rEbuild

matthew fowler/gazette

The miracle Cafe after may 21, 2011.

matt Bristow/gazette

The miracle Cafe in march of this year.

Please see miracle, page 8


The FHTC family supports

Bill and Paula Hanlon and

the Reading Community.

3301 West 18th Ave.Emporia, KS 66801

800-711-6947 • 620-343-4600www.fhtc.edu


By Monica Springer

[email protected]

rEAdinG — Walking down the streets of Reading on Monday morning, the mayor of this small town in northeast Lyon County said everyone in town sus-tained some type of damage.

“Buildings are shredded,” said Lon-nie Atchison, mayor. “It just ruined this place.”

A metal trash can that was at the el-ementary school now sits a block away in someone’s yard.

Roofs of houses lay on the ground. On some heavily damaged houses peo-ple from the street can look into the upper level of the homes and into the attics.

Trees have snapped limbs and some trees are completely missing bark.

About 40 people gathered inside the basement of the Methodist Church to take shelter from the storm.

“It took a wallop,” Atchison said. “It was quite frightening there for a while.”

He said also that practically every car in town has damaged or broken

windows.“It (the tornado) just imploded

them,” Atchison said.The Reading community has done a

lot of work in recent years to improve the town. The city has bought new equipment, including a dump truck, a back hoe and a utility trailer. The com-munity building had been fixed with new siding. The city has also painted buildings in town.

The storm came from the southwest and went northeast.

Reading Elementary School has bro-ken windows. Large trees are snapped in front of the school.

The school lost a section of roof that covered the stage, said Mike Nulton, superintendent of North Lyon County USD 251. The school district is work-ing with firms to address roofing, sid-

ing, and window issues.“If we can get the materials and work-

ers in place, I think Reading School will be fully repaired in a few weeks,” Nul-ton said in an email Monday afternoon.

The day before the storm was the last day of school.

Atchison said while walking down the streets that he has been near torna-does before, and he has seen some from the distance, but he has never been in one, “sitting in the basement of the church while it’s getting mangled.”

Early Saturday evening, the storm didn’t look that threatening, Atchison said. Storms flared up around Topeka, then a little cell showed up near Empo-ria and headed Reading’s way.

The Methodist Church is the city’s emergency shelter. Atchison was home when the tornado sirens went off. He went to open up the church.

There were already seven or eight people waiting to get in, he said. In all 38 people took shelter in the church, in-cluding young children.

Atchison said the people in the church huddled together in a group.

“Some people just crossed their fin-gers and prayed for the best,” he said. “It was really mixed feelings, resigned to scared to death to screaming.”

‘ it just ruinEd this plAcE’“It was really

mixed feelings, r e s i g n e d t o scared to death to screaming.”

atchison

About 10 years ago the town’s only cafe burned to the ground.

Citizens banded together to try and form a new place to eat and formed Read-ing Community Development, Inc.

A location was identified. Those who had skills did the remodeling; others with skills did the decorating. Vintage dining sets were donated — dishes, glassware, tableware — and miracle after miracle, a cafe was born in the old-est building in Reading, a house built in 1870, back in Reading’s big railroad days.

“Everyone worked and donated ta-bles, chairs, everything,” Jackson said. “It’s called Miracle Cafe because it took a miracle to get it open.”

Rep. Peggy Mast (R-Emporia) said losing the cafe is devastating.

“The Miracle Cafe has been an inspi-ration to me, the way it’s operated and it’s been so successful and a benefit to the community.”

Mast said she last ate at The Miracle Cafe a month or two ago. That night’s special was already gone.

“It’s a real popular spot,” she said. “It’s attracted people from other communities to come. It’s been an inspiration to the community and to the area around it.”

miracleFrom pAGE 7

THE EMPORIA GAZETTEWednesday, June 29, 2011 Page 9

We are here for you!

EMPORIA1700 Industrial Rd

(620) 343-6100

Store Hours:Mon.-Fri.: 7:30 AM - 8:00 PMSaturday: 7:30 AM - 8:00 PMSunday: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Credit you can build with

Apply Today!

• Paint• Lumber• Furniture• Hardware

• Electrical• Plumbing• Flooring• Cabinets

• Lawn & Garden• Decorating• Building Packages

EDITOR’S NOTE: Originally published on May 24, 2011

BY JEREMY SHAPIRO

[email protected]

A shelter operated by the American Red Cross at the Emporia Senior Center welcomed Reading area residents Sun-day evening.

While far from the comforts of home, residents were provided meals, a televi-sion, a place to sleep and a venue to catch up with neighbors and friends.

Janet Kloster, a Red Cross volunteer from Salina, said they’ve had a great re-sponse from the community and from volunteers.

“Several individuals and businesses have come by to give money and offer help,” she said.

Financial donations may be dropped of at the Senior Center, 603 E. 12th Ave. Donations of supplies must be taken to the Lyon County Extension Office, 2632 W. US Highway 50. Residents needing specific things can also go to that office or call 341-3220.

“We’ve been able to match requests with donations,” Kloster said. “People have needed tarps and diapers and all dif-ferent things. We have the resources to

help with most of those requests.”A Baptist group, called the Southern

Baptist Convention Disaster Team, is cooking meals at the shelter. Grilled hamburgers were among the items await-ing Reading residents when they arrived after cleaning up their property Monday.

Volunteers from Emporia and across the state are helping operate the shelter, said Dwight Moore, an Emporia volunteer.

“We’ll stay here and be open as long as there is a need for it,” he said.

SHELTER PROVIDES TEMPORARY HOME FOR TORNADO VICTIMS

JEREMY SHAPIRO/GAZETTE

American Red Cross volunteers Janet Kloster, right, and Dwight Moore wait for Reading area residents to arrive at the Emporia Senior Center.



By Monica Springer

[email protected]

rEAdinG — Several local and state officials toured Reading on Monday morning, stop-ping to talk to local residents about their experiences during the storm and to talk about Reading’s future.

“Our hearts and thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Reading,” said Gov. Sam Brownback. “This is difficult. Much of the town has been hit. The business struc-ture within the town has been hit, much of it destroyed.”

Brownback was one of several people to tour the area. Also in Reading on Monday were U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, state Sen. Jeff Longbine, state Rep. Peggy Mast and Scott Briggs, chairman of the Lyon County Commission.

Brownback outlined steps people can take to volunteer. Those steps include:

F Do not just show up to Reading. Call 211 and identify your group. “People want to help, they need to help, but it needs to be in an organized fashion,” Brownback said.

F Contribute money. Go to ksready.gov. Brownback said the most helpful way people can help is to contribute money.

F Brownback also encouraged people to seek shelter when tornado sirens go off. “I’m just warning folks. If you get the warning and it hits, get to safety and have a plan,” Brownback.

Kansas Adjutant Maj. Gen. Lee Ta-fanelli said resources across the state are in Reading to assist in the clean up. A dollar amount for the damage is not yet known.

Brownback and Lt. Governor Jeff Coly-er landed in Reading in Army helicopters. They toured Reading in two large passen-ger vans with members of the media. They also stopped to talk to residents about their experiences.

Reading Mayor Lonnie Atchison told Brownback about the damage.

“Everybody got some kind of damage,” Atchison said, adding that nearly every car in town has destroyed windows.

Atchison told the governor that resi-dents in Reading had about 15 minutes of

warning before the tornado struck. The train tracks that run east and west

through town had debris littered across them, Atchison said, and that has since been cleaned up.

Moran toured Reading with Briggs at about 7 a.m. Monday.

“This was a serious storm that created lots of damage,” Moran said after the tour. “Our small towns already struggle. These are very difficult circumstances when you get an additional burden.”

Moran said of the residents he has talk-ed with, there seems to be an upbeat feel-ing in the community.

“It’s a real ‘We can do this’ attitude, which is pretty typical of Kansas,” Moran said.

Moran said in Kansas, whether it be in other tornado-stricken towns such as Greensburg, Chapman, or Hoisington, there’s always a sense of home.

“Despite the destruction there’s an inspi-ration in this. We’re going to make things work despite the tragedy,” Moran said.

Moran said he took a few photographs on his tour, including one of the Method-ist Church where 38 people rode out the storm and one of the heavily damaged post office.

“There’s a real sense of community pride,” he said.

Briggs and other area officials said there has been a significant amount of progress already in the community.

Streets are now clear and Westar crews are working on power lines. Officials re-ported some power has been restored Mon-day afternoon.

On Monday cleanup started on tree limbs and other debris that is burnable, Briggs said.

“We’re getting people back in. There’s been a lot of progress. These guys are amazing,” Briggs said.

In a press conference, Briggs said it’s a feat separating plain lumber from trees to debris to hazardous material.

He said he’s not sure of a time frame for when the town will be cleared of the debris. Much of it depends on the weather, Briggs said, and storms are expected in the area again today.

Briggs said the real heroes are the peo-ple who are working to clear the town.

“They have done a tremendous job. Lo-cal residents are boastful today,” he said.

officiAls tour rEAdinG

monica springer/gazette

State Sen. Jeff Longbine and gov. Sam

Brownback tour the

destruction in reading.



By BoBBi Mlynar

Special to The Gazette

Temporary housing has been set up in Emporia for pets who survived a tornado that devastated the City of Reading Sat-urday night.

On Monday afternoon, 11 dogs were being sheltered in cages under a large makeshift kennel built of temporary fenc-ing and covered by tarpolins. The shelter was built near the livestock exhibit area at the Lyon County Fairgrounds.

“These are dogs who don’t have a home right now,” said Christen Skaer of Wichita, president of the Kansas State Animal Response Team. “Fortunately, these all have (owners). … We’re helping while the owners get situated, find new homes.”

Food, supplies and treatment for the pets being kept at the fairgrounds have been provided by Walmart, veterinarians in the Wichita area, and Dr. Duane Hen-rikson of the Emporia Veterinary Hospi-tal, who donated his services on Sunday.

“We’ve had some Good Samaritans in Emporia,” Skaer said. “We don’t need any more supplies.”

Skaer said that none of the dogs at the fairgrounds are expected to be put up for adoption. The dogs simply are waiting until their owners have been able to lo-cate permanent housing for themselves and their pets.

All either were brought to the fair-grounds or were picked up in Reading af-ter the response team arrived in the area Sunday morning.

Other Reading dogs and cats whose owners unknown are waiting to be claimed and being tended under the su-pervision of the Emporia Police Depart-ment’s Animal Control officer Peggy Derrick.

Pet owners who are looking for their dogs and cats will need to make arrange-ments with Derrick, who may be reached by calling 340-6345 or 343-4220.

The city animal control department has been working with the state rescue group to care for the Reading animals.

Kelly Banna of Wichita, a KSART vol-unteer stationed at the fairgrounds dog care center, suggested that owners of missing pets bring a photo of their pets and themselves, if possible, to claim them from the shelter.

If a photo is not available, the owner must describe the pet before he or she will be allowed to look among unclaimed dogs and cats.

“That’s to prevent having someone take a dog,” Banna said.

Owners also may fill out missing pet forms so they can be contacted if addi-tional cats and dogs come into the city shelter.

Skaer suggested that pet owners take some precautionary measures now to help find and identify their pets when emergencies arise. Microchips can be im-planted by a veterinarian and identifica-tion tags and bands also are helpful.

“The more they can prepare for disas-ter, the better,” she said.

Skaer does not anticipate an influx of additional dogs and cats from Reading, either at the known-owner shelter or at the city shelter.

“I think that it’s a small enough town, we won’t get too many more,” she said.

And livestockDogs and cats were not the only ani-

mals set loose to fend for themselves when the tornado swept a path from north of Emporia, to Reading, and on to Osage County. The tornado also damaged fenc-ing and freed a number of cattle.

Wanda and Lowell Chambers of rural Emporia encountered a herd of 15 to 20 white cattle meandering along Burlin-game Road Sunday morning. The cattle showed no fear or surprise as the vehicle moved closer, with horn honking.

“They were going north on Burlingame Road,” Wanda Chambers said, explaining that the cattle had come off a gravel road onto Burlingame as the Chambers drove south in their van. The cattle stood their ground for a short time, with one show-ing a touch of attitude.

“That one cow just turned and looked at us like, ‘What are you doing?’” Cham-bers said, laughing.

Soon a few of them turned around and, with the others following, meandered south to the gravel road and headed back the way they had come, and the Chambers continued on in time for Sunday school at Grace United Methodist Church.

animals bEing kEpt at Emporia fairgrounds


a beagle rests at the Lyon County Fairgrounds after surviving the read-ing tornado. Volunteers from Sedgwick and reno Counties cared for the dogs.



By Jeremy Shapiro

[email protected]

AMEriCUs — While there was some moderate damage, compared to its sur-roundings Reading Elementary School is in adequate condition following Sat-urday’s tornado.

By the end of the day Monday the school had such luxuries as electricity, functioning bathrooms, running water and air conditioning. Emergency of-ficials are in the process of moving its staging area to the school.

“We came out of this smelling like a rose,” said North L y o n C o u n t y S c h o o l B o a r d member Bill Mc-Clellan.

School district leaders said dur-ing an emergency meeting Monday in Americus the building should be ready when school resumes in August. The much more murky ques-tion is how many grade school age children will re-main in Reading in three months.

There is big hole in the roof. Windows are bro-ken. A computer was smashed up. Playground equip-ment is nicked up.

But North Lyon County Superin-tendent Mike Nul-ton said, structur-ally, the building held up well de-spite winds roaring up to 165 mph.

Nulton said the roof blew off the school in the portion of the building that covered the stage. The stage is on the side of the gymnasium.

“The whole roof is gone,” he said. “Wall to wall, there’s nothing left of it.”

It rained on the stage and gym but staff has been able to clean it up.

Nulton said it’s too big a hole to patch. After considerable discussion with engineers and an insurance adjust-er, an order was placed for materials and parts, he said.

“It probably will be weathered in by Thursday, or Friday if storms move in,” Nulton said.

There is scar damage to the roof from debris coming from elsewhere. The fabricated roof portion of the build-ing had all the seams raised. Debris was

inserted and then the seams came back down.

“That’s very common in tornadoes,” Nulton said.

While many of the other parts of the building can be fixed in the next few weeks, Nulton estimates it will take all summer to repair the roof.

The kitchen area in the southwest part of the building got beat up pretty good, Nulton said. Nearly all windows on the west side are out, he said.

A two-by-four flew into the room used for computer and speech therapy purposes. It smashed up a computer and then poked some holes in the wall.

There’s some minor damage to bus-es but nothing serious. The playground

equipment may also need to be replaced, Nulton said.

H T K R A r -chitects , Groh Roofing, Gerald Schumann Electric and AAA Glass all have checked out the building and evaluated what needs to be done, Nulton said.

He said they do not have to le-gally bid out work because there are provisions in place for emer-gency situations. Since the building is open to the ele-ments, it qualifies as an emergency, he said.

Cost for the repairs are not known at this time. The school d i s t r i c t d o e s have insurance and Nulton has worked with the

insurance adjuster before.Emergency officials want to use the

school as a staging area and a shelter should there be more severe weather. The command center had been on the edge of town in a wildlife and parks fa-cility.

Board member Sarah Meenen asked if they could potentially be reimbursed with federal money for allowing the school to be used for emergency opera-tions.

Nulton said it was unlikely. The amount of uninsured damage may not meet the $3 million Federal Emergency Management Agency threshold.

Overall, Nulton said his biggest con-cern is not with the building repairs. It’s with the rest of Reading, he said.

“There is a lot of rental properties,” he said. “The damage is widespread. No

house went untouched.”He said since it happened the day af-

ter school let out for the year, it gives residents three months to rebuild. He said some families may choose not to come back.

Nicki Edwards, a fifth grade teacher, said she feels awful for the families of

her students. “The students are all treating this as

some kind of adventure,” she said. “It’s their parents that were glassy-eyed and shell shocked. You ask what you can do, but there isn’t anything you can do ex-cept put your arm around them and tell them ‘I’m so glad you are OK.’”

Wishing those affected by the tornado

a fast recovery!2301 Industrial

343-1500

sChool in rElAtivEly good shApE Af tEr tornAdo


Fallen trees obscure the view of reading elementary School monday morning.

matt bristow/gazette

Workers install a temporary roof above the reading elementary School stage.


We are Strongly Committed to helping our

customers during this time of rebuilding

• High-Speed Internet - For Emporia & Rural Lyon County

• Virus & Spyware Removal

• Remote Backup Service

• Custom Order Dell PCs• Computer Networking for Business

620-343-8500 • www.seamless.netSimply Done Right


By Jeremy Shapiro

[email protected]

Though it has been reported else-where the Reading tornado caused $2.3 million in damage, the truth is the amount is still unknown, said Rick Fre-vert, Lyon County emergency manage-ment coordinator.

Frevert said they also don’t have a final tally of number of homes and businesses with major and minor dam-age in the storm.

Figures for both could be verified and ready for public dissemination to-day, Frevert said.

The important number is the amount of uninsured losses. It takes a tad more than $3 million in uninsured losses for a town to qualify for federal money. Since the Federal Emergency Management Agency pays for 75 per-cent of rebuilding public buildings, it’s a big deal.

Emergency officials said they are still receiving damage reports so the dollar amount of damage is trickling

upward. Staff from the Lyon County Appraiser’s Office visited Reading Tuesday and their findings could be part of the damage calculations.

Frevert said for emergency crews, the emphasis for now is still on safety. He said they are trying to coordinate as much debris removal as possible.

“That way if we get more bad weath-er, there won’t be as much danger with debris flying around,” he said.

Two landfills have been established each with a different type of debris be-ing brought in. Damaged appliances are being dropped off at the park and will be hauled away later. This division of debris has helped speed up collec-tion, Frevert said.

Frevert was pleased that power was restored to those that can receive it and that some homes had running water.

“We are trying to return things to a degree of normalcy,” he said.

Frevert said in meetings with emer-gency workers, they outline a list of things to do for each work period. At the end of that period, they make a list of what was done and what wasn’t.

“What didn’t get done makes the list for the next work period,” he said.

damagE totals still bEing calculatEd


By Jeremy Shapiro

[email protected]

The donations keep coming, and com-ing and coming.

The generosity exhibited by Empori-ans and people around the state was evi-denced big time at Black Heart’s House of Art and at the Lyon County Extension Office Monday.

Water, diapers, food, paper towels, toothbrushes and hand sanitizer were just some of the dozens of items brought in all day for the victims of Saturday’s Reading tornado.

“We stopped counting when we hit 4,000 donated items,” said Michele Belli with Black Heart’s House of Art.

Beill got a jump start on collecting donations Sunday before the Volunteer Reception Center opened Monday at the extension office.

Donations are still needed and can be dropped off at the extension office, 2632 W. U.S. Highway 50. The most immedi-ate needs are:

F Sports drinks, diet drinks, snack-type foods (breakfast bars, peanut butter crackers, etc.).

F Bug spray, sun screen, heavy duty gar-bage bags, rakes, work gloves, safety goggles, sun hats, ponchos in case of rain.

F Office supplies, including paper, pens, clipboards, staplers and staples.

F Personal care items: Shaving cream, razors, toothbrushes and toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, soap, etc.

In addition, Reading area residents in need of specific items can come by the office or call 341-3220. Volunteers will at-tempt to find those items.

When she woke up at 6 a.m. Sunday, Belli said she knew she had to do some-thing for the people that lost their homes in the tornado. She decided to open her shop at 720 Commercial St. to provide a central-ized donation center. She messaged 100 friends and the thing spread like wildfire thorough word of mouth and social media.

“We had people bringing in carloads from Kansas City, Wichita, Vasser, Bald-win City and several other places,” she said. “It was overwhelming in a good way.”

While the volume of donations as-tounded Belli, the fact people were being so generous did not.

“People have good hearts and they move so quickly,” she said. “We live in such a caring community.”

thousands of suppliEs roll in

Jeremy Shapiro/Gazette

Volunteers pablo Loyola, right, and Nancy hargett organize donated supplies at the Lyon County extension office monday.


“Providing the BEST in Quality GM cars and trucks

and the BEST customer service for over 45 years!!”

20th Anniversary

Supporting Reading during this time of rebuilding!

See Us For Your Building & Equipment Needs:• Power Tools • Plumbing • Outdoor Power Equipment • Lighting • Building Materials • Paint • Lawn & Garden

801 W. 6th Ave • Emporia, KS 66801(620) 343-2800 • www.waterstruevalue.com

EDITOR’S NOTE: Originally published on May 25, 2011

BY JEREMY SHAPIRO

[email protected]

READING — While the pain and suffer-ing hasn’t gone anyway, residents, fami-ly members and volunteers across Read-ing were in good spirits Tuesday while removing debris and cleaning up what’s left of their homes.

Resiliency was one word often used. Uncertainly was another one.

While hopeful the town will bounce back from Saturday’s EF-3 tornado, their is also a fear it could turn into a ghost town.

The future of Reading depends on a lot of things. Having the elementary school re-open is one. That will happen, said Principal Peggy Foret.

Another is being able to get FEMA money. That is less certain.

“We still don’t know,” said Rick Frevert, Lyon County emergency man-agement coordinator. A lot of people stopped to ask him that question Tues-day, hopeful that the uninsured damage hits the magic FEMA aid number.

Then there’s the question of whether there are jobs to come back to.

Bill Hooper has lived in a house on

First Street for 54 years. His livelihood and memories were violently and rudely tossed around by the tornado.

“It’s a total loss,” said his son, Eric. “Every room except two of them are gone. You see that big hole? That was two bedrooms and an attic.”

Hooper’s wife is postmaster at the damaged Reading Post Office.

“If her job is relocated, we will relo-cate too,” Bill said.

Humor and departureJessica Graybill and her daughter

Ariel Brecheisen are going to be former Reading residents.

The house owned by Graybill’s fa-ther, Bo Bahnmaier, is in bad condition. Bahnmaier already had the insurance adjuster take a look and they decided it was not fixable. He already had the in-surance check Tuesday.

Graybill and Brecheisen decided to have some fun with their old home. They painted “Gone with the Wind” on one side and “Toto Ran Away” on the other.

“You have got to find humor even in disaster,” Bahnmaier said.

Bahnmaier, a retired custodian at the school, used to live in town but moved

REBOUND OR GHOST TOWN? RESIDENTS UNSURE OF FUTURE

Please see Future, Page 16




By Brandy nance

[email protected]

Emporia resident and sculptor John Forsythe was lucky when it came to the Reading tornado that hit on Saturday.

Forsythe owns a former Catholic church on the outskirts of Reading, which he uses as his sculpting studio, Veritas Bronze, which is Latin for “the truth of bronze.” Forsythe creates mon-umental bronze. He worked in Law-rence for five years and has worked out of Reading for the past 10 years.

When Forsythe heard of the torna-do, among his concerns was his stu-dio. His studio escaped the brunt of the damage with only damage to the roof and the contents inside escaped damage.

“All the windows are intact,” For-sythe said, of the stained glass win-dows. “I knew the place could take a pretty good hit. It’s triple bricked.”

A cross that was on the roof fell off, shattering on the ground. Forsythe pieced it together as best he could on the sidewalk in front of the old church. Among other damage was six cedar trees in front — they were all down, Forsythe said.

Forsythe said he arrived in Read-ing to check on things Sunday — the day after the tornado.

“It was mild chaos,” he said.He said on Wednesday the town

has been cleaned up significantly.“This is clean compared to where

it was,” he said, despite a mass of mangled trees off to the side of his studio. The trees in front of his stu-dio had been cleared and removed by Wednesday.

“I hope this is the one and only time Reading gets hit,” he said, as he stood in front of his studio.

studio damagEd in rEading tornado

to a house about five mile east of town. His daughter and granddaughter made a dash for Bahnmaier’s home the night of the storm. They were fine. Their posses-sions were not.

“Their goes a lot of memories,” Bre-cheisen said. “All of our things went out the windows. It’s something you never expect.”

shed taken out Matt and Brandee Ball and their three

boys rode out the storm in their home near the railroad tracks. They could hear the windows break as the tornado swept in.

John Bishop, Brandee’s father, said the house didn’t suffer too much im-mediate harm but the tornado lifted the roof a little.

Matt’s shed, where he fixes antique cars and hot rods, was gone. Ball was able to transport the cars elsewhere af-ter cleaning up the broken glass.

Bishop said they will rebuild the shed if they decide to stay at the house. Insur-ance may be the deciding factor. Matt works at Menu while Brandee works at Lyon County State Bank.

“They are taking it pretty well all things considered,” Bishop said.

open for businessWhile The Miracle Cafe, post office

and Tightwad Bank will be out of com-mission for a while, one business is set to re-open today.

Heads, Hands and Feet, a two-month old barber and beauty shop, was largely undamaged. Stepping inside is a slightly eerily experience because unlike pretty much everything else around it, the inte-rior looks normal.

“I had some roof damage and the sky-lights blew out,” said Rich Heathman, who owns the store with his wife, Aman-da. “But we’ll be back open. It’s time to get back to work.”

Heathman didn’t completely luck out. He was in the process of opening a vending machine filled convenience store next door.

The roof was only partially done so it was open to the elements when the tor-nado arrived. In fact, before the storm Heathman had just bought a stack of lumber and it was sitting at the front of the new store. He donated the lumber to people in need.

Although it may never get built in Reading, the idea for the store still ex-cites Heathman.

“It will be all vending machines,” he said. “There will be one for things like bread and milk, one with juice and drinks, one with worms and one with personal items. There would be tables in the middle and free wi-fi. There would also be a microwave to use and change and credit card machines.”

Volunteers pitch inEven with some groups unable to

volunteer because of the threat of bad weather Tuesday, Reading was full of volunteers removing debris. Several groups were assigned various yards to clean. Other volunteers trimmed trees. Some prepared foods. All seemed happy to lend a hand.

Harley Yoder has been to many disas-ters as part of a Amish Mennonite relief group from Garnett. He was removing various debris from a side yard Tues-day.

“I’ve seen quite a few of these and this is one of the worst,” he said.

Next door, Kevin Miller was one of 23 volunteers from the Lyndon Amish Men-nonite Church.

The group was picking up bigger debris first, but also sprinkled in was personal items like an old Yankess base-ball card, a “Last of the Mohicans” VHS video and a Donald Duck hat.

“I really appreciate what I’m seeing out here,” Miller said. “People are com-ing together far and wide to help this town regroup. This is a blessing.”

Pulling togetherForet, the school principal, said the

residents are staring to come to grips with reality. They are grateful their weren’t more people hurt and residents seem willing to pull together.

Foret said residents are also grate-ful for the outpouring of support. Even simple things like getting a pair of shoes is appreciated.

“You give a child a stuffed animal and they take it and hold it,” Foret said. “They are as happy as a lark. We take these things for granted.”

Foret likes the progress made by resi-dents so far. But she can’t predict what the future holds.


the awning for tightwad Bank in reading lies two blocks east of the where the bank is located.

futurefrom PagE 14


Sculptor John Forsythe stands in front of an old Catholic church he uses as his studio in reading. although suffering some roof damage, the building escaped the brunt of the storm.



Editor’s notE: Originally published on June 22, 2011

By Jeremy Shapiro

[email protected]

United Way leaders want to know how Reading residents want to spend at least $100,000 in donated money.

A meeting Monday at Reading Elemen-tary School began discussions about how the donations would best benefit the com-munity as it rebuilds from the May 21 EF-3 tornado.

Jami Reever, executive director of the United Way of the Flint Hills, said they have received about $75,000 in donations and another United Way chapter has raised $25,000. Reever said other chapters across the state may also have additional money to donate.

Reading Mayor Lonnie Atchison said citizens would like a new community cen-ter. He said the town needs a venue that can host community celebrations.

“We need something for Girl Scout and Boy Scout meetings, birthday parties and family reunions,” he said. “We also need some place for meetings. The school will eventually kick us out to get ready for the school year and the church will be undergo-ing repairs.”

Trying to gauge where the needs are, Reever asked if there were a number of people in need of bigger ticket items.

Barbara Schlobohm, Reading public in-formation officer, said most of the basic or essential items are available for residents at the school. She said she hasn’t heard too many requests for major things, other than

short-term housing. Then again residents who are in need of more expensive items may not be eager to broadcast it, she said.

“We all know everyone,” Schlobohm said. “They probably would not come for-ward because they know that everyone would know about their situation.”

Steve Burnett, with Kansas East Con-ference of the United Methodist Church, said they are taking applications for help. He said they are getting asked for help re-building roofs, windows and siding.

Burnett said they hope to soon begin case management.

“We look at not only what needs they have but also what resources they have,” he said. “We try to channel that money to the people that really need it.”

Burnett said typically they convey re-quests through some sort of long-term re-covery group that has a say over donation

money. That entity here will likely be Reading

Community Development. Three members from community development attended a seminar in Greensburg last week. They will share their findings during a meeting at 7 p.m. tonight at the United Methodist Church.

“They will figure out what projects are needed,” Atchison said. “If some lady needs her house painted, she can make that re-quest to them.”

Reever said she would like to serve as part of the community development group to get a better feel for how the United Way money can be distributed.

Schlobohm said the people with Read-ing Community Development also want residents to start thinking about a vision for the future.

“What do you want Reading to look like in 10, 15 and 20 years,” she said.

Reever said when money came into Greensburg after the 2007 tornado, the ini-tial efforts were on housing, utilities, jobs, child care and medical care. She said they want to help with things like that and filling in gaps.

Atchison said some of it doesn’t apply here. He said money for housing should be a much higher priority than day care.

“People need to understand we’re not Greensburg,” he said. “We are not going to do it their way. We’re not as big. We’re not going to have as much money. We aren’t going to qualify for FEMA. We’re small town farm and working people. If we’re going to take five or six years to rebuild like Greensburg, we’re going to lose our citizens.”

Jeanine McKenna, president and CEO of the Emporia Area Chamber of Com-merce, said the reason Greensburg keeps coming up is they are a model.

“We can learn from their mistakes and see what has and hasn’t worked,” she said. “It’s a model. No one is saying go green like them or do the exact things that they did. But if it’s a process that worked, let’s not reinvent the wheel.”

At a meeting held at the same time next door, Claire Holmes, field operations su-pervisor for the SBA, was informing Read-ing business owners about federal disaster loans.

Home disaster, business physical di-saster and economic injury disaster loans are all available. Holmes said she wants to make sure and reach people to encourage them to apply for the loans by the July 26 deadline.

“They are under no obligation to take it, but they can’t get one if they don’t apply,” she said.

Reta Jackson, owner of The Miracle Cafe, is hoping business owners made a de-cision soon on whether to re-open.

“We need to make plans and deci-sions,” she said. “We want our town back so we have to have businesses. I ask you to make the decision as soon as possible. If it’s yes, shout it from the rooftops. If it’s no than at least tell us so we could go from there.”

Jackson said after the meeting that for people that decide to move out of Reading, Reading Community Development could potentially buy up their land and give it to someone else who agrees to build some-thing.

How sHould rEading spEnd $100K ?


By Brandy nance

[email protected]

The green vests being worn by the Lyon County Community Organization Active in Disasters (COAD) members became a common site in Reading following the May 21 tornado that destroyed homes and busi-nesses in Reading.

Mike Dorcey, chair of COAD, said Lyon County’s COAD was patterned after a na-tional model. The group, which is com-prised of volunteers, is activated by the county in case of disasters or other events where volunteers will need to be managed.

The COAD group was formed to man-age spontaneous unaffiliated volunteers who show up wanting to help during disas-ters or other events. This management is needed to ensure the volunteers are coordi-nated and don’t become part of the problem following a disaster.

“History has taught us that people will show up and go into disaster areas and be-come part of the problem,” Dorcey said. “The idea is to time volunteers when need-ed.”

In Reading, COAD was responsible for coordinating all unaffiliated volunteers who showed up wanting to help with clean-up and other efforts following the tornado.

The organization bused volunteers from the Lyon County Extension Office all week, signed them in, issued them ID cards and gave them volunteer assignments in Read-ing. This ensured a smooth, organized clean-up process.

COAD also manages donated assets such as food, water and other supplies needed after a disaster. If people donate a truckload of water, it may not all be needed in the same day, Dorcey said.

Dorcey said hundreds of volunteers gave their time in Reading — an average of 90 to 100 per day.

“As long as Lyon County and Emer-gency Management is here, we’re at their

disposal,” Dorcey said.COAD ceased operations Friday at 5

p.m. Anyone wanting to volunteer or do-

nate items for Reading tornado victims should call (620) 699-3827 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

coad worKing tirElEssly in rEading


rick Frevert, Lyon County emergency management coordinator, talks with mike Dorcey during the reading tornado clean up.

Kellen JenKins/Gazette

reta Jackson, owner of The miracle Cafe, asks for clarification on what grants and loans are available for busi-nesses looking to rebuild.


Supporting youduring the

re-buildingprocess!

841 Graphic Arts RoadEmporia, Kansas • 620-342-1650

“God Bless Reading on their way back”

• Residential• Industrial• Commercial• Service Calls

• Aerial Reach up to 90’• Pier Hole Digging up to 44” diameter

601 W. 6th • Emporia, KS620-342-2176


By Jeremy Shapiro

[email protected]

rEAdinG — While residents of Reading gathered Tuesday evening to hear what financial resources are available to them, they also got a peek at what life could be like during the tornado recovery process.

Matt Deighton, director of volunteers during the Greensburg tornado recovery effort, didn’t sugar coat some of the dif-ficulties in disaster aftermath. But he also spoke of how a town can rally together to make a consequential comeback.

An EF-3 tornado the evening of May 21 caused large-scale damage in Read-ing. About 90 homes in Reading suffered damage severe enough that 120 residents have been displaced.

During a Town Hall meeting Tuesday evening at the United Methodist Church, Deighton told roughly 130 people in at-tendance that part of the recovery effort takes communication and everyone play-ing well together.

“You can’t get mad at one entity and take your toys and go home,” Deighton said. “Your city officials have got to be the foundation of this community. The decision that they make is going to ef-fect hundreds of individuals for the rest

of their lives.”Deighton said there will be a point

where residents will have the urge to fight one another.

“There’s this huge emotional roller coaster in front of you,” Deighton said. “You’re going to love and hate each oth-er.”

Deighton showed a slide show with many before and after photos from the 2007 Greensburg tornado. Toward the end of presentation were shots of how far the town has now come with attractive new buildings, national television atten-tion, as well as a wind farm and other en-vironmentally friendly practices.

“You may say to yourself these things are way too big for Reading, but they are not,” Deighton said.

While specifics about the direction of rebuilding will be talked about later, Tuesday’s focus was informational. It gave a variety of speakers a chance to ex-plain what help they can offer and how to get it.

William Koontz, public information of-ficer for SBA Disaster Assistance, talked about the benefits in applying for a low-interest low. Loans are available for home owners, renters and small businesses.

The amount of the loan depends on the level of damage and how much insurance money is received. A homeowner can re-ceive up to a $200,000 loan to repair or

replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $40,000 to repair or replace dam-aged or destroyed personal property.

It’s free to apply, no collateral is need-ed and the interest rates for homeowners is 2.69 percent, which can be paid off over as much as 30 years.

“We can make it affordable,” Koontz said.

Residents can be turned down for lack of income or poor credit, but even if that happens, those residents have six additional months to re-apply and may be able to get the loan at that time, Koontz said

SBA officials will be at Reading El-ementary to help residents apply from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday through June 16.

There is still no word on whether FEMA assistance will become available. Jim Williams, a project manager with the Kansas Division of Emergency Manage-ment, said they are still putting together the facts and figures for Reading and oth-er storms in the state. A certain amount of damage is needed to trigger Federal Emergency Management Agency finan-cial assistance, which generally is a huge boost to recovering communities.

“We are not there yet,” Williams said. “It’s not known if we will meet the re-quirement, but we are doing our best.”

SRS, the United States Department of Agricultural Rural Development and Kansas Lions Club also have some lim-ited resources for residents. They will be at Reading Elementary School the next few days to visit with residents.

Because of some thefts, a curfew re-mains in effect in Reading between sun-set and sunrise. Another type of theft res-idents need to watch out for is unethical contractors and roofers. Jay Perez, with the Better Business Bureau of Kansas In-corporated, said storm chasers attempt to rip off residents.

“Before you agree to anything find out the answers to three questions,” Perez said. “Are they licensed and insured in your jurisdiction? Do they have a perma-nent address in your area? And have they been in business for more than year?”

Deighton also preached caution, going as far as saying don’t hire the first con-tractor unless you’ve known them since they were a baby.

“Be extremely cautious with your money,” Deighton said. “Don’t run out and make fast decisions.”

Many in Reading will get together for a T-ball game this evening. Another Town Hall meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at the church. The Read-ing City Council is expected to discuss the town’s future for the first time since the tornado.

LEssons from GrEEnsburG tornAdo rEcovEry couLd Aid rEAdinG


**Accept S & S Fueling cards, Debit and Credit cards.

Home deliveries also available of Gas, Diesel, Bio-Diesel, Lubricants

and Propane!!!

Supporting Reading in a Strong Rebuild!!

Oil & Propane Co., Inc.

We are also back up and going at the Reading Card Fueling Site located on Highway 170:

Gasoline • Highway Diesel • Farm Diesel

2608 W Hwy 50 • 620-342-2835

HOSTESS BRANDS COMPANIES

1525 Industrial Rd • Emporia

Supporting you and your family during this time of change and

rebuilding.


By Monica Springer

[email protected]

rEAdinG — The sounds of the crowd cheering on kindergartners and first grad-ers filled the air in Read-ing on Wednesday night. At the first T-ball game of the year, people chatted with each other as they watched their children run around the bases and slide onto the home plate.

But this year, children played T-ball in a field sur-rounded by broken trees and tattered homes that were ruined when an EF-3 tornado de-stroyed much of the town on May 21.

The first T-ball game of the year was scheduled before the tornado. And after the tornado, the community wanted to keep the game in Reading and not cancel or reschedule it.

“It’s a symbol of how this storm hasn’t got the last word,” said J.T. Crawford,

Reading’s T-ball coach. “Tonight is for the kids. It’s their recovery, too. We’re going to rebuild and come back stronger than ever.”

And people came to watch the ball game, about 100 in all.

The Reading Lions, consisting of nine first grade and kindergarten students, played the Neosho Rapids Jaguars. But

the score didn’t really matter.

“Tonight’s more of a celebration,” Crawford told the crowd before the start of the game. “It’s about our young people, our town and our rebuilding.”

Misty DeDonder, mother of T-ball player Bethany DeDonder, said she was not surprised that people ral-lied together to clean up the ball field so the game could take place as scheduled.

“They worked really, really hard,” De-Donder said. “I’m not at all surprised.”

Despite missing some practice time because of the storm, Misty DeDonder said she was impressed with the team’s efforts.

“I think they did wonderful,” she said.The field in Reading looks quite a bit dif-

ferent than it did before the storm. The press box, dug outs and fencing were destroyed by the tornado. Trees were uprooted, leav-ing holes were the roots used to be, and the trees that are left have broken limbs.

To get the field cleaned up was a large task. Crawford said the field, which is lo-cated in the northeast part of town, had pieces of the park strewn across it after the storm, as well as vehicle parts, steel,

screws, nails and other debris.“It looked like a bomb hit it,” Craw-

ford said.Reading residents, with the help of

volunteers, cleaned up the field by scour-ing through it, picking pieces of debris. The field had to be safe so kids could play on it, Crawford said.

While much of the field was destroyed, the building that houses the concession

rEAdinG rEsidEnts AttEnd first t-bAll

GAmE of thE summEr


reading T-ball players enjoy a game against Neosho rapids Wednesday night.

“Tonight is for the kids. It’s their recovery, too. We’re going to re-build and come back stronger than ever.”

Please see game, page 20


FARM & RANCH SUPPLY

Here to help you with all your

Rebuilding Needs.

2611 West Hwy 50 • Emporia(620) 342-5502 • (800) 800-7505

Store Hours: Mon. - Fri.: 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. Sat.: 7 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

www.bluestemfarmandranch.com

“Celebrating 50 years of service”

GeoTech Inc., is looking forward

to seeing the Community of

Reading coming back better than before!

GeoTech Inc.Land Surveyors

Serving the Area since 1984Steven S. Brosemer, Owner 1512 W 6th Ave. • Emporiawww.geotechinc.net 620-342-7491

“Land Surveying Tailored to Your Needs.”

GeoTech Inc., is looking forward

to seeing the Community of

Reading coming back better than before!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Originally published on June 3, 2011

BY BRANDY NANCE

[email protected]

READING — A church group out of Sun City answered the call when Youth Pastor Tal-ena Martin was awakened with a call to go to Reading to donate supplies and money.

Martin said she was awakened by the Lord with a call to go to Reading to donate following the EF-3 tornado that afflicted the town on May 21. She had never heard of Reading before, she said.

Martin, who is the youth pastor at Fa-thers House of Worship in Sun City, which is 90 miles southwest of Wichita, said she called around to organizations to help and each one told her money would go to Jo-plin. She kept getting prompts that she needed to go to Reading. She had all kinds of reasons why she couldn’t go including lack of time. But, she said, the Lord kept prompting her and she sprung into action. Even though the group faced several chal-lenges prior to going to Reading, they made it and pulled in with a truckload of supplies for residents on Thursday.

“The Lord brought us here,” Martin

said, while at Reading last week.Martin put a trailer in front of the

church, which people filled with supplies. She also collected monetary donations for Reading — about $1,000 worth. She, along with several church members, drove the 4 1/2 hours Thursday to deliver the money and supplies to Reading. They spray paint-ed their mission on the side of the white trailer. The trailer indictated that they were Reading-bound. Supplies included everything from toilet paper to food and cleaning supplies.

“The Lord just made the way,” Martin said.

ANSWERING THE CALLstand and restrooms survived the storm. The bleachers also survived, although the top row of one set of bleachers is twisted up.

Crawford said it took about five or six days of cleaning to get the field ready to be played on.

“This means a lot for the communi-ty,” Crawford said. “When a ball game happens everybody shows up.”

Holly French, whose daughter McKenna is on the T-ball team, said before the game that she hopes people are inspired.

“The kids are looking forward to it,” French said.

The kids were surprised before the game by Captain Jack Sparrow, a Johnny-Depp look alike who works out of Kansas City.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” he said in full pirate costume, including dread-locks that hung to his back. He also said he hoped the game brought hope to people before he threw the first pitch.

The Reading T-ball team consists of: Greta Crawford; Taylor Pringle; Sierra Demsey; Jax Bowers; Bethany DeDonder; Hannah Jones; Dallie Senft; McKenna French; and Brett Malcolm.

GAMEFrom PAGE 19



Partnering Together to Nurture the Land!

1744 County Rd FEmporia, KS 66801

620-342-5000 • 888-753-0103

Encouraged by the remarkable resilience of the Reading

Community as they rebuild.

Helping you

face your

challenges.


By Monica Springer

[email protected]

rEAdinG — U.S. Senator Pat Roberts vis-ited Reading on Friday and spoke to local residents about how the town is recover-ing.

Roberts, R-Kansas, said when a power-ful tornado comes through a small town it wreaks havoc on the town.

Roberts said it’s very difficult to pull essential services that people are used to together after a storm.

“That just takes a while,” Roberts said. “It’s very exacerbated.”

It still is not known whether Reading will qualify for assistance from the Feder-al Emergency Management Agency after an EF-3 tornado destroyed much of the town on May 21.

Angie Morgan, deputy director of the Kansas Department of Emergency Man-agement, said there’s a 30-day deadline to assess whether there is sufficient unin-sured loss to qualify for FEMA assistance. Morgan said they will likely ask for a 30-day extension.

There has to be an uninsured loss of $3.4 million to qualify for FEMA aid.

Roberts said that waiting period is difficult for the town. Often, it’s a sign of whether people want to come back and re-build, Roberts said. He referred to the waiting period that residents of Reading are going through as purgatory.

Meanwhile, homeowners in Reading can qualify for low-interest loans through the Small Business Administration.

On Friday afternoon, Scott Briggs, chairman of the Lyon County Commis-sion, said crews had hauled 1,785 loads to the landfill.

Roberts also visited with a barbershop owner in Reading who is offering $5 hair cuts.

The barbershop is fine, but it shares a wall with City Hall, which was damaged in the tornado.

“It shows you the uniqueness of what they’re going through,” Roberts said.

Roberts said his office is working with U.S. Senator Jerry Moran’s office, as well as with U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins.

“We’ll have three staffs trying to be of help (to Morgan) and all the local folks here to see if we can’t sort this thing out. It’s a tough job,” Roberts said. “One of the things we have to figure out is who’s coming back and who isn’t.”

Roberts said it’s not fair to compare the Reading tornado with other torna-does that have damaged or destroyed Kansas towns.

Some of the buildings in Reading are still standing but have enough structural damage that the structures will have to be torn down.

“You’re still going to have to go through the same kind of work and ef-fort to restore the essential services you have to have to be a viable community,” Roberts said. “There are some things that folks are eligible for but there are thresholds to it. Sometimes that’s fair and sometimes it isn’t.”

Roberts said he wants to make sure that everything is considered.

“We’re looking for damages,” Roberts said.

Roberts said he respected the courage of the Reading residents.

“These people were enjoying a won-derful life in a rural community that was starting to come back,” Roberts said. “And boom, this hits. Nobody expects that’s going to happen to our community, but it does.”

robErts visits rEAdinG


Lonnie atchison, mayor of reading, visits with pat roberts on June 3.


Marion National Bank is your home town team & we are here to help YOU!

• Checking Accounts

• Saving & Time Deposits

• Loan Products

• 24 Hour Banking

1448 Industrial Road Emporia, KS 66801

620-342-0200

Marion National Bank

Let our friendly staff help you with your banking needs!

bankwithmnb.com


The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, MO. — The night before a mammoth tornado knocked out Jop-lin, killing more than 150 people and laying waste to a third of the southwest Missouri city, another tornado ripped through a small central Kansas town, causing extensive damage and killing one person.

While millions of dollars from the Federal Emergency Management Agency are expected to flow into Jop-lin to help with the massive devastation there, the residents of tiny Reading, Kan., population about 230, will not get one type of FEMA disaster aid, and it’s still unclear if the town will qualify for a second variety of FEMA assistance.

Sharon Watson, spokeswoman for the Kansas Division of Emergency Man-agement, which partners with FEMA to administer disaster aid, said Read-ing residents do not qualify for FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program, which would include money to cover uninsured losses or expenses for such things as temporary housing, home repair and re-placement of household items.

It was still unclear Friday if Reading would qualify for the agency’s Public Assistance Pro-gram, which would include money for repairs to Reading’s damaged elemen-tary school, other public buildings and infrastructure.

“We know the numbers are not where they need to be for individual assistance,” Watson said. “We are still evaluating the numbers for the public assistance. ... We are close to the fed-eral threshold, but more preliminary damage estimates are needed.”

She said a “main resource” for Read-ing residents would be low-interest loans from the Small Business Admin-istration.

Reading Mayor Lonnie Atchison, who’s retired from the U.S. Navy and whose own uninsured home was heav-ily damaged in the May 21 tornado, said any FEMA assistance would be “tremen-dously important” for the town.

Apart from the school, which lost its roof in the storm and also has water damage, a major concern is Reading’s water tower, he said. The 500,000-gal-lon tower shifted a few feet in the EF-3 tornado. Atchison said it’s unclear who would pay to replace the tower it if that becomes necessary.

“We’re scared to death about that,” Atchison said. “We’d have to go beg-ging, borrowing or stealing from the

government to get a water tower. Right now there’s nothing to replace one of them. ... That’s where the FEMA money would come in use if we could get it.”

The tornado, which rolled over Reading late Saturday, May 21, killed 53-year-old Don Chesmore, who was in a mobile home that flipped. The storm also caused about $1.15 million in dam-age to homes in Reading, Watson said. She said 26 homes were destroyed, and another 30 homes had substantial damage. But that’s not enough to meet FEMA’s threshold for the Individual As-sistance Program, which requires the town to have had about 100 uninsured homes destroyed, Watson said.

The state has also been evaluating whether Reading would be eligible for FEMA’s Public Assistance Program for its school, and other public buildings, which sustained about $1.13 million in initial damages. Damage to the water tower was not included in that initial amount. Under the public program, FEMA requires that the state, based on its population, have $3.4 million in dam-ages.

Watson said 10 public buildings were destroyed, another four had substan-tial damage and seven more were damaged but were “inhabitable.”

She said the state has been evaluating damages elsewhere that came in after the tornado and could be considered part

of the same storm system, and could make the town eligible for the public as-sistance money.

“New damages have come in which will be applied, and we are continuing to get new information in which could bring us to the level we need to ask for a federal declaration,” she said.

The Public Assistance Program would include 75 percent of the unin-sured costs from recovery and repair for public buildings, non-profits and infrastructure. State and local gov-ernments then provide the remaining 25 percent. FEMA’s regional office in Kansas City did not return calls seek-ing comment.

Atchison and his wife have been rais-ing their two grandchildren, but sent them to live with relatives after the tor-nado severely damaged their home. For now, he and wife are living in a relative’s home in town.

“I’m just flat worn out,” he said. “You get a lot of groups coming in and shak-ing hands, but none of them actually help you.

“It seems to me like, oh, we hear the USDA, Commerce Department and things like that, say ‘We’re here. You need to apply for grants.’ But God only knows if you’ll get them,” he said.

READING DOESN’ T QUALIFY FOR SOME FEMA AID

“I’m just flat worn out. You get a lot of groups coming in and shaking hands, but none of them actually help you.


LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED

EmPORiA3000 W. 18Th AvENuE

Ph. 620-343-8646Pizza, Chicken, Salad Bar, ice Cream

Buffet, Delivery or Carry-out

Buffet hours:mon.-Fri.: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. & 5 p.m.-8 p.m.

11 a.m.-8 p.m. on Weekends

We’re here to help!

mowersPush

orriding

For Rent or Sale

www.firststartrental.com

Check out one of our two locations:2026 W. 6th Ave • Emporia, KS (620) 343-0983

115 Main • New Strawn, KS (620) 364-1983

www.firststartrental.com

First Start RentalSales & Service

Rentals of all types of equipmentM-F- 7:30-5:00 SAT- 8:00 - 12:00

We’re here to help!

We Can Rent Anything You Need To Have A Beautiful Home & Lawn!

Heavy duty equiPment

• Stump grinders• Tillers• Airless paint sprayers

• Aerators• Overseeders• Power rakes

and mucHmore!


BY BRANDY NANCE

[email protected]

READING — Donations are pouring in from all over as Reading tries to pick up the pieces after the May 21 tornado that tore through the town.

The Reading City Council held a meet-ing Thursday night to talk about a variety of issues including donations being given to the town to help with tornado relief. Gene Ramsey, mayor of Ottawa, presented the city council with checks for Reading for the playground from the City of Ottawa and a check from the Ottawa Chamber of Com-merce.

“We feel that Reading may have been overlooked a little bit over Joplin,” Ramsey said.

Barbara Schlobohm, public information officer for Reading, said there is money be-ing raised all over in the name of Reading from dinners to other fundraising activi-ties.

Reading also received a donation from Reading, Mass., in the amount of $5,000 to help re-build the ball diamond. Read-ing has only one ball diamond and it was

destroyed in the tornado. The Kansas City Royals Alumni Group contacted Reading as well and offered to donate to the town. Those in attendance at the meeting decided they wanted the donations to go to the park when received.

Jami Reever, executive director of the United Way of the Flint Hills, cleared up some rumors as to where the money raised for the people of Reading will be going.

“The money is going to the people of the community,” Reever said, adding that the money will be available for residents who need things such as repairing homes, cars and medical bills.

In other matters:

✦ Schlobohm talked about a grant avail-able to homeowners whose homes are in need of rehabilitation following the tornado. The grant is for homeowner occupied homes only and for homes that are still standing.

✦ There will be a lunch on Saturday at the fire station in Reading by Lebo Baptist Church.

✦ The store will be open on Saturdays from 9 to 11 a.m. Residents are asked to pick up their own free supplies and to

DONATIONS POURING INTO READING

Please see Donations, Page 25


CLARK CARPET & TILE, INC.Pat and Lori Clark, Owners

Free estimates • 1 blk west of UPS 343-6883 • 3302 West 6thwww.clarkcarpettile.com

Countertops • Flooring • TileSee all of our products at www.clarkcarpettile.com

See Clark Carpet & Tilefor All of your...

WINDOWTREATMENTS

Poehler MercantileANTIQUE MALL

SPEND THE DAY IN THE HEART OF EMPORIA ANTIQUE COUNTRY!

Quality Antiques in a Beautiful

Historic Building.2011

Reading Residents, Our Thoughts & Prayers

Are With You!

sign in. Use the southeast gym door.✦ The Reading Community Development group

will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the United Meth-odist Church in Reading.

✦ On June 25, there will be a day full of activities to benefit Reading. The day starts with a walk/run with registration starting at 6:30 a.m. and the walk/run beginning at 7:30 a.m.; at noon there will be bands, raffles, pony rides, bouncy toys and vehicle displays; at 6 p.m. there will be a free fish/hot dog dinner; and 9ish, there will be fireworks. The event is free and donations will be accepted.

✦ A school supply barbecue will be from 5 to 7 p.m. July 6 at the shelter house in Reading. The Wy-andotte County Kiwanis have committed to raise the funds for Reading kids.

✦ The final noon meal will be provided for the com-munity from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 26. The Emporia Presbyterian Church will be hosting.

✦ A Reading housing fair will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. June 25 at the Reading United Methodist Church to provide information to Reading resi-dents on home financing, energy efficiency, cred-it counseling/homebuyer education and other housing information. The event is presented by the USDA Rural Development, Kansas Housing Resource Corporation, FHLBank Topeka; and the Mennonite Housing Rehabilitation Services. For more information contact the USDA Rural Development at (620) 365-2901.

DONATIONSFrom PAGE 24


Thinking of the Reading CommunityDuring Your Rebuild!

WOODCHAIN LINK

VINYL

ORNAMENTALDOG KENNELS

FREE ESTIMATES

A BEAUTIFULLY FENCED YARD BYHoward Wullschleger • John WullschlegerSALES • INSTALLATION • REPAIR • RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL

342-9492 1769 Road G • Emporiawww.midlandfence-kansas.com

Since 1979


Special to The Gazette

Wayne Bell, district director of the U. S. Small Business Administration’s Kansas District Office, announced to-day that SBA will keep the Disaster Loan Outreach Center in Reading open until June 30 to meet the needs of resi-dents and businesses who were affected by the May 21 tornadoes. SBA is also changing the times the center will be open, he said.

“SBA opened the Disaster Loan Outreach Center on June 1 to meet in-dividually with residents and business owners who suffered damage from the tornadoes,” said Bell. “We are extend-ing the center’s length of operation to give individuals and business owners every opportunity to meet with our rep-resentatives in person to discuss their individual circumstances,” he added.

“SBA customer service representa-tives will continue to be available to is-sue loan applications, answer questions about SBA’s disaster loan program, ex-plain the application process and help each individual complete their applica-tion,” he continued. Bell encouraged

anyone who has suffered damage as a result of the tornadoes to visit one of the centers before they close. You don’t need an appointment to visit the cen-ter.

The outreach center is located at the following location and will now be open on the days and times indicated:

Reading Elementary School, 424 First St.

Mondays — Thursdays, 10 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.; Fridays, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Closes: Thursday, June 30“Low-interest Federal disaster loans

are available to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and private, non-profit organizations whose property was damaged or destroyed by the torna-does,” said Bell.

Disaster loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace their damaged or destroyed primary residence. Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property.

Businesses of any size and private non-profit organizations may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, ma-chinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets. SBA can also

lend additional funds to help homeown-ers and business owners with the cost of making improvements that protect, prevent or minimize the same type of disaster damage from occurring in the future.

For small businesses only, SBA of-fers Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. EIDL assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any prop-erty damage.

Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure Web site at https://di-sasterloan.sba.gov/ela.

Disaster loan information and ap-plication forms are also available from SBA’s Customer Service Center by call-ing SBA toll-free at (800) 659-2955, emailing [email protected], or visiting SBA’s Web site at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance. Hearing impaired individuals may call (800) 877-8339.

The filing deadline to return appli-cations for property damage is July 26, 2011. The deadline to return economic injury applications is Feb. 27, 2012.

For more information, visit SBA’s Web site at www.sba.gov.

SBA TO EXTEND OPERATIONS


“You can do whatever you have to do... and sometimes even better than you think you can!”

- Jimmy Carter

Be Blessed...and God Speed

1632 Industrial Road • Emporia

7 Dragon DessertsAT&T Wireless

Bath & Body WorksBuckle

Claire’s BoutiqueCoach’s Bar & Grill

Crystal NailsFlinthills 8 Theatre

Flinthills Learning CenterGNC

Hibbett Sports

jcpenneyKS Drivers License

MauricesNewman Express Care

SearsSherry’s Dance Workshop

Sutherlands LumberUS Air Force

US ArmyUS Marines

US Navy

620-342-4631 • www.theflinthillsmall.com


BY BRANDY NANCE

[email protected]

Two Reading orphans, Hickory and Zeke, are still in need of homes.

Hickory and Zeke, both cats, were or-phaned in the May 21 Reading tornado. They now reside at the Emporia Animal Shelter, 1216 Hatcher St., waiting for somebody to open their homes and give them a forever place to stay.

Peggy Derrick, manager of the Em-poria Animal Shelter, said the two were found in Reading a day or two after the tornado along with several other cats and dogs. All but Hickory and Zeke have been claimed by their owners.

ZekeZeke is a senior adult male cat yellow

in color. When he came into the shelter he was cut up pretty bad, Derrick said.

“He had lots of cuts and scrapes,” she said.

Zeke is a friendly cat, only asking for a lap and a safe place to sleep. He was curled up in a towel at the animal shelter this week. He is neutered as well. Zeke would do best in a calm home where he can rest and be loved.

HickoryHickory is a young cat, probably less

than a year old. His upbeat, patient and playful personality would make him good with kids, Derrick said. Earlier this week, Hickory was in a condo cage in the hall-way of the animal shelter meowing to anybody who would listen and charming visitors as they went by.

“Hickory would love a home with kids,” Derrick said.

The adoption fee for Zeke and Hickory, as well as all the cats at the Emporia Ani-mal Shelter, has been waived until the end of December. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday-Friday. Weekend adoption appointments are available. To reach the shelter call 340-6345.

ORPHANS NEED HOMES


Our thoughts are with you as you rebuild your

community and your lives.

- Your Local Independent Agent -• Auto • Home • Farm

• Business • Life Insurance

702 Commercial, Suite 1-BEmporia, KS 66801

620-342-7665Fax: 620-342-7650

Autobody - Mufflers - BrakesMechanical Repair & Maintenance

We’re here when you need us!

1221 Industrial Rd.620-342-7713800-289-5652

FREEBody ShopEstimates

Proudly Serving Emporia and the Surrounding Area Since 1968


BY BRANDY NANCE

[email protected]

Reading will be full of activities Satur-day during the Reading Rebuild Day.

The event will run all day and many activities are planned. The day full of activities will directly benefit Read-ing.

The day starts with a walk/run with registration starting at 6:30 a.m. and the walk/run beginning at 7:30 a.m. The event will begin at the Reading Method-ist Church. Any donation is accepted. Registrations will be taken the same day at the church at 6:30 a.m.

At noon there will be free food, raffles every hour, a silent auction. You do not need to be present to win the raffles and auctions. There will be funnel cakes and sno cones from Tropical Sno as well.

In addition, there will be vendors, the Rolling Thunder Military Truck Display and an emergency vehicle display includ-ing helicopters.

The Girl Scouts will be providing car-nival games, the Emporia Arts Council will do face painting and the Emporia Zoo will have an animal display. Other animals will be on hand as well.

At 9 p.m., the Reading Tightwad Bank will provide a fireworks display.

All proceeds and donations will go to various funds set up at the Reading Tightwad Bank to save and rebuild Read-ing.

The day also will include several bands.

✦ Noon — Wayne Stoll, Fiddler and Pickers from Reading.

✦ 1 p.m. — J.T. Crawford and Tammy Patterson from Reading.

✦ 2 p.m. — Ryan Durst from Lebo.✦ 3 p.m. — The Basement Pickers from

Emporia and Reading.✦ 4 p.m. — Via Christus from Olpe and

Emporia and Sacred Heart Catho-lic Church and St. Joseph Catholic Church.

✦ 5 p.m. — Lee Muller with Spare Parts from Americus.

✦ 6 p.m. — Kapos from First Baptist Church.

✦ 7 p.m. — Between the Lines from Emporia.

✦ 8 p.m. — Wood Valley Pickers from Topeka.

Bring lawn chairs as seating will be limited. For more information contact Melanie Dicks-Pritchard at (620) 699-3328.

READING REBUILD DAY


Proudly serving the Reading Community

The Salvation Army327 Constitution

Emporia, KS 66801

(620) 342-3093



BY BRANDY NANCE

[email protected]

One month after the May 21 EF-3 torna-do ripped through Reading, 53 of the town’s 101 homes have been torn down with two more slated to be torn down this week.

The post office also has been torn down as well as the town’s cafe, the Miracle Cafe. The grain elevator was being torn down Tuesday. The park and all-veterans memo-rial are all but destroyed.

All that remains of the town’s business structures are a bank building, which was getting evaluated Tuesday and a build-ing across the street which houses Heads, Hands and Feet, a beauty shop owned by Richard and Amanda Heathman.

Town Hall also remains, but it isn’t be-ing used because of structural damage right now. The gasoline filling pumps have been brought online but natural gas is still off for many of the remaining homes.

“You can get a haircut and gasoline,” said Barbara Schlobohm, public informa-tion officer for Reading.

Schlobohm said most people are in the process of trying to figure out housing so they can return to Reading. Those whose homes are able to be rehabilitated have

started the process.“A lot of homes were not insurable,”

Schlobohm said, adding that this factor has created many problems and challenges for residents.

One month after the tornado hit, the adrenaline is wearing off, Schlobohm said.

“Reality is setting in,” she said. “People are becoming stressed and depressed. We’re asking people to see their doctors and seek help.”

Schlobohm said many people are look-ing to re-build in Reading. The Miracle Cafe will be re-built as well as the grain elevator.

“Most of the people realize that this is an opportunity to have a new and improved Reading,” Schlobohm said.

Schlobohm added the school is getting ready for a new school year and will be open next school year.

There is not, however, any news on the post office as to whether it will return or not. Schlobohm said the post office deliv-ered mail from Admire over to Lebo and the northern part of Lebo.

“It served a large area even through it was located in a small town,” she said.

Getting back to businessRichard and Amanda Heathman are get-

ting back to business in their beauty shop

Stanley Jewelry is morethan just a jewelry store!

619 Commercial • Emporia, Ks.Ph. (620) DIAMOND

Stanley Jewelry has been helping the community make memories

for over 61 years.We support the people of Read-

ing as they rebuild on memories from

yesterday and create new memories for tomorrow and the

years to come.

Supermarket of Fine Wines

2716 W. 12th St., Emporia, KS 66801 • 620-343-7414

Supermarket of Fine Wines

Liquor • Cordials • Coolers • Beer

Please see Recover, Page 31

STILL RECOVERING


620.342.2613After Hours/Weekends

620.341.9111Coupon & Info In Feist

Beth & Jesse WilsonJesse

20032004 2006 20072008

BODY SHOP

2011

20072008

AutO Service

2011

The worst is over — the best

is yet to come.Good Luck Reading!

Relax it’s RheemT M

2479 Road M • Emporia, Kansas • 620.342.8343

Praying for you & your families during the rebuilding journey.

Rheem® Prestige Series Home Comfort Systems are energy efficient for year

round savings & comfort! • Up to $1,000 Consumer Cash Back from Rheem • Up to $500 in Federal Tax Credits • Save on Monthly energy bills all year long

620-342-8343

You can depend on us night or day!That’s the Jones way!

Get back up to $1,500*

in Reading.“People have started coming back,” Richard Heath-

man said. “It’s been a month since their last haircut. It’s slowed down quite a bit.”

Heathman’s building was heavily damaged by the tornado, but the tornado spared the business part and a majority of the home part, which is located in the building behind the beauty shop. Heathman said he had only been open two months before the tornado struck.

The family had started renovating another part of the building prior to the tornado. That part of the building is now gutted.

Weathering the stormRichard Heathman recalled riding out the storm

in the basement of their home. Prior to the storm, the family was out fishing at a low-water bridge.

They came home when they saw a storm approach-ing, not knowing what was about to unfold. Before the storm hit, he sent his wife and kids to the basement and then noticed the trees were starting to lean and he saw swirls. When he saw part of a roof fly by he then headed to the basement himself.

“Looking back, it sounded like a jet plane pushing a Mac truck through the living room,” he said.

Heathman said he and his family plans on staying in Reading but is saddened that the town is nearly de-stroyed.

“The whole town is damaged,” he said, through misty eyes. “It’s gone. Everything is affected.”

RECOVERFrom PAGE 30


Tightwad Bank

Temporary Location:131 W. Market Street, Suite A

P.O. Box 58Osage City, KS 66523

(North end of Osage Medical Plaza)

785-528-2880

A FULLSERVICE

BANK

The directors and officers of Tightwad Bank, formerly known as Reading State Bank, appreciate the patronage of our customers. We respect the pride and heritage of the

community and know that the strong-willed residents of Reading will rise above adversity and rebuild their town. It will be a time of opportunity, the opening and closing of doors,

with dreams and ideas reaching reality. It takes a little rain to make a rainbow!

Date post:	29-Mar-2016
Category:	Documents
Upload:	the-emporia-gazette
View:	225 times
Download:	2 times

Reading Kansas Tornado

Documents