PAGE 16
GREENSBURG FROM PAGE 15
bator's energy quota. Specifically- angled skylights and strategically- arranged window patterns equate to easily accessible free daylight
- artificial lights are controlled by motion sensors so that unoccupied
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
rooms are automatically darkened. Water drained down sinks and showers is collected and used to flush toilets. 23 geothermal wells pull air, 56 degrees Fahrenheit, from 30 feet underground to cool in the summer and heat in the winter. The underground air sits at 56
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The list goes on, and most of these features are common among the LEED Platinum buildings in Greensburg: the school, the 5.4.7 Arts Center (designed and constructed by 22 KU architecture students in the Studio 804 graduate design program), the BTI John Deere dealership, the hospital and Prairie Pointe Townhomes. But all of these significant changes to the landscape don't erase the fact that a tornado destroyed Greensburg and that it could happen again.
Ray Stegman, Greensburg's emergency manager, said earlier this spring the whole town immediately disappeared underground and into shelters at the first news of a tornado warning.
I think the biggest thing people miss is the trees. It's probably the biggest thing for me, personally. Everyone used to sit in their backyard under the shade and hang out, but there just aren't that many trees here anymore."
Stegman, who worked for local law enforcement for 16 years before the 2007 tornado, was asked by the city to be emergency manager just two days after the tornado. He immediately picked up the duties of organizing cleanups, helping FEMA set up trailers and whatever else he was asked to do.
The city administration has fought an uphill battle since May 2007, overcoming economic, environmental and even political obstacles.
Once Greensburg was established as a burgeoning "green"
community, conferences for disaster recovery and sustainable planning began inviting Mayor Dixson to share his story of Greensburg's transformation from a pile of rubble into a worldwide model for sustainable communities. At one such conference, a sustainable energy expert asked Dixson why the town decided to rebuild in the first place, considering the tornado left practically nothing behind and the town was "in the middle of nowhere."
"It was never a question for any of us — whether we should rebuild," Dixson said. "For one, it's our home, our town. And secondly, Greensburg isn't in the middle of nowhere. It's in the middle of everywhere."
Edited by Kelsey Cipolla
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
A spray-painted message on the side of a Greensburg business reads, "Open as soon as we can." Five years after the tornado, many Greensburg business owners have been unable to rebuild and reopen their establishments.
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