Marble Hill residents go to work

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- A day after a tornado ripped through a four-mile stretch of Bollinger County south of Marble Hill, residents and a horde of volunteers spent most of the daylight hours cleaning up rubble that previously had been valuable pieces of their lives.

Then in the afternoon, many of those same people paid respects to 12-year-old Billy Hoover, who was killed by the tornado early Sunday while at a sleepover with friends.

"We're certainly a tight-knit community," said resident Lucille James, who served round-the-clock meals to victims and volunteers at the Point Pleasant General Baptist Church, where many in the town worship. "It's hard right now, but we'll survive this."

The tornado, which killed Hoover and injured others, also damaged 22 homes, and 15 of those were destroyed. Many of those residents refused to feel sorry for themselves Monday and instead went to work.

"I'm alive and my husband's alive and tell me what else matters?" said Betty Hastings, whose home at Lake of the Hills sustained more than $100,000 in damages. "We're going to rebuild."

Betty Hastings' extended family -- including her husband's ex-wife -- turned out to burn wood, sort through damaged property, clean and help turn what's left of the house into something livable.

They also had help from a group some in the town called the "chain-saw brigade," a group of men with chain saws who went around cutting up the countless number of downed trees.

"People have done more than I ever imagined," Hastings said. "If there's one positive, that's it. People have been really great."

'Awesome' attitude

The town itself also seemed resilient, as volunteers came from all across the state and across the country to help out.

Resident Mark Holland of Holland Excavating, for example, donated his time and equipment since the storm hit by clearing away debris from the roads so authorities and homeowners could get through. Jim Hayter came from Springfield, Mo., to help provide food, water and other cleanup equipment.

Millie Becker traveled from the Long Beach, Calif., chapter of the American Red Cross to Bollinger County to deliver food, water, rakes and other supplies. Mostly, she ended up listening.

"I get more than I give," she said. "The attitude of these people is just awesome. When I ask if there's anything I can do, they say, 'No, but would you go over the way and check on my neighbor?' I'm so overwhelmed."

Jim Bollinger, the Marble Hill fire chief and emergency management director, said the city could not have gotten by without the help of its citizens and those who came from other places to lend a hand.

"I am tremendously, indescribably proud of the way the community came together," he said. "Notice I didn't say I'm surprised."

'Don't have no say-so'

The get-back-on-your-feet attitude didn't belie the fact that most residents were unsure about what happens next. Aileen Roberts, 82, had just buried her husband of 61 years the week before the tornado ripped off her porch and damaged the windows and roof of the home they'd built together.

"I don't hardly know what I'm going to do," she said, wiping away tears. "It sure is hard to take all at once. I don't even want to stay here."

Roberts said she didn't know what sort of insurance her husband had on the house.

"I'm glad he's not here to see this," she said. "But we don't have no say-so. The Lord does."

Jacqueline Liley, whose mobile home was destroyed, said she is now homeless.

"Got a good used shopping cart?" she joked. "There's no way to fix it up. I guess I'll dig a hole and crawl in it or something. I don't know what I'm going to do."

U.S. Sen. Jean Carnahan delayed the kickoff of her campaign to visit the area Monday afternoon. She chatted with victims and local authorities.

"It's just miraculous that people survived," she said, surveying damage at Lake of the Hills subdivision. "It's just indescribable."

Carnahan said she was going to lobby for government aid to help the area. "I'm going to Washington today to do what I can to get help for these people. They've been through enough and they need help."

Bollinger County Presiding Commissioner Kenny Trentham said the county can use whatever help it can get. Federal Emergency Management Agency money is not guaranteed, he said, especially considering fewer people were affected than if the tornado had hit a more populous area.

Added to disaster area

Buck Katt, deputy director of the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency, said that they have recommended that Gov. Bob Holden ask President Bush for federal assistance.

Holden added Bollinger County to a disaster declaration he made four days earlier, after tornadoes caused significant damage in Butler, Madison and Carter counties, also in southeast Missouri.

The same series of storms on Sunday also hit Illinois, Kentucky and Maryland, killing five others.

If Bush agrees, then FEMA will set up a hotline immediately and victims can request aid by phone, Katt said. They would be eligible for individual assistance to pay for debris removal and other clean-up costs, he said. Homeowners might also qualify for small Business Administration low-interest loans.

He said those without insurance could qualify for $15,000 for temporary housing and $11,000 for emergency repairs. He said he's seen this process take anywhere from four to 10 days.

110-mile path

Officials with the National Weather Service flew over storm-damaged areas Monday afternoon. Spokeswoman Christine Zagorski said there was some evidence that one of the Sunday morning tornadoes tore a path 110 miles long through Southern Illinois and into Hopkins County, Ky.

"I don't know if that's a record, but it would make history, that's for sure," she said.

The Sunday storms ended a rough week of weather in Missouri. On Wednesday, tornadoes injured 18 people and damaged about 120 homes. A tornado that shredded a subdivision near Poplar Bluff was described as an F-4 twister with winds in excess of 200 mph.

The long day ended with the visitation for Billy Hoover, whose funeral is at 1 p.m. today.

Woodland Middle School principal Ty Mungle said Hoover was an active and well-liked student. He liked to play basketball and baseball and was an avid fisherman. Mungle said Hoover had just received a "most improved" award in science.

"He really enjoyed his friends," Mungle said. "He enjoyed coming to school and he enjoyed being around people. He was a very social child and a very loving child."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

smoyers@semissourian.com

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