Youth group has narrow escape from Saturday tornado

DEXTER, Mo. — A youth group at First Pentecostal Church of Dexter took shelter just minutes before an EF2 tornado struck the town, leaving a 5.5-mile long path of destruction.

The group of teenagers had just heard the tornado sirens sound and gone downstairs when wind speeds of up to 120 mph exploded a large window at the front of the church shortly after 8 p.m., according to pastor Jeff Wells.

The velocity of the wind left shards of glass embedded in a nearby receptionist desk, Wells said. It also picked up an 8-foot enclosed trailer from an area between a church van and shed and tossed it across One Mile Road into a ditch.

“My daughter was there at 8:17 p.m., out looking at the clouds,” said Wells, who said the time frame was captured on church security cameras. “The outdoor camera showed at 8:19 p.m., you could see the wind blowing ... at that time the trailer was already gone. It was pretty crazy.”

The youth group included about seven teens from ages 16 to 18.

A window exploded Saturday evening in the front area of First Pentecostal Church of Dexter when a tornado slammed the area.Submitted

“Nobody was hurt, but the kids were all scared,” said Wells, who has been pastor there for about eight years.

The church is among about 150 sites that experienced damage in the storm, according to the National Weather Service.

Volunteers with Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief chain-saw crews arrived Sunday in Dexter to begin helping with the cleanup process.

“We had assessors arrive [Sunday] afternoon and our first chain-saw crew arrived [Monday] morning ... about 9 a.m.,” said coordinator Eddie Barnhill of Charleston, Missouri.

About eight volunteers were on site Monday morning, including members of the Doniphan-Poplar Bluff-based chain-saw crew.

“Most of the damage is east of the hospital,” Barnhill said. “There’s trees uprooted. Trees on homes. Trees hanging over homes. Roof damage.”

The crews are receiving assistance requests from city officials, but are also taking requests at their Dexter base, First Baptist Church. Residents can stop by the church to fill out a request, Barnhill said.

“We’ll stay as long as we have workers and as long as there is work to be done,” Barnhill said. “From what we’re seeing, my guess is most of this will be cleaned up within the week.

“The Missouri Baptist goal is to bring help, hope and healing to the community and that’s what we’re attempting.”

This image shows glass embedded in wood following a window that exploded Saturday at First Pentecostal Church of Dexter.Submitted

Other help will be available today from Southeast Missouri Food Bank.

The Food Bank, in partnership with Lighthouse Church, will hold a mobile food distribution for victims of Saturday’s tornado at 5 p.m. today at Lighthouse Church, 18555 Lighthouse Drive in Dexter. Transportation of the food will be provided by Hope International.

For First Pentecostal Church of Dexter, cleanup started Saturday night with boarding up the church window and continued Monday, when insurance adjusters were expected on site.

A basketball goal from the church was also found wrapped around a telephone poll at SoutheastHEALTH, a shed and vehicles were damaged, in addition to other damage to the church, Wells said.