Winds damage town in Bootheel town

Daily Dunklin Democrat

WHITE OAK, Mo. -- Strong winds swept through White Oak Wednesday night around 11:30, causing damage to many businesses and homes in the area.

The largest business in White Oak is the White Oak Gin along Highway 25. The gin suffered tremendous damage to an elevator leg, trailer shed and a roof section of an elevator.

Large metal poles embedded in layers of concrete were ripped from the ground and lay strewn across several acres of the property.

Along the sides of the highway, 2-by-4s pierced the ground, leaving jagged edges exposed.

According to Robbie Winston, gin manager, the amount damage had not yet been estimated.

"The staff has already taken a quick sight survey of the damage and is working on analyzing all the damage," Winston said.

The gin was not the only property that sustained damage. Many houses in White Oak received significant damage.

The home of Kevin and Patricia Voyles received a broken window when a large metal trash barrel was hurled into it by the strong winds.

Shed hurled 500 feet

The family's small, metal shed was picked up, not disturbing anything inside, and thrown across the fence and came to rest about 500 feet from its former location.

A trampoline that used to stand in the backyard is now in several pieces and scattered throughout the family's yard and the yards of several neighbors.

Patricia Voyles was home with her two young children when the storm hit.

She said that at first she thought someone was breaking into the house.

"When the barrel hit my bedroom window, I woke up and thought someone was trying to break in," she said. "Then when I got really awake, I realized we were having a storm. I didn't know the significance of the storm until I went out this morning and took a look around."

She said there was a lot of damage done. "We were without lights until this morning and I was concerned for the lives of my two children," she said. "I grabbed them during the storm and placed them into the bathtub in the center of the house. Needless to say, I was pretty scared."