WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 2003
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN - 7A
National Guardsmen to assist tornado-hit city with clean-up
The Associated Press
PIERCE CITY, Mo. National Guardsmen bound for Iraq returned instead to their tornado-flattened hometown of Pierce City to help clean up splintered homes and businesses and check on their loved ones yesterday after twisters killed at least 40 people in three states.
One person was still listed as missing yesterday in this southwestern Missouri town.
The death toll reached 18 in Missouri with the discovery of a child's body outside Pierce City, and rose to 15 in Tennessee after a man was found dead in a field near Jackson. The storms Sunday night also were blamed
for at least seven deaths in Kansas.
Severe weather returned to both Kansas and Missouri yesterday afternoon, as the National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for 14 counties, including Cole County — where everyone from lawmakers and students touring the Capitol were evacuated to the building's basement.
"I never thought this would be happening twice," said Molly Manes, a 14-year-old who was visiting the Capitol yesterday. Manes lives in Fair Play, a town east of Stockton, and Sunday's tornadoes destroyed four of her family's barns.
"It's pretty scary," she said. "It's pretty unreal."
There were no immediate reports of any touchdowns, damage or injuries from the new batch of storms.
Members of the Missouri National Guard's 203rd Engineering Battalion had been at the Army's Fort Leonard Wood, about 75 miles from Pierce City, working on paperwork for their deployment to Iraq, when their cell phones started ringing with calls about the tornado.
One of the Pierce City buildings destroyed Sunday night was the National Guard Armory, where many of the soldiers had trained and where some residents sought shelter during the storm. A large part of the building collapsed, killing one person.
Yesterday, many of the unit's soldiers were taking personal leave to help in their hometown, said Capt. Gerald Green, a company commander. They are still expected to leave for Iraq in a few weeks to help repair war damage.
"To be honest, Baghdad looks better than Pierce City," Greensaid.
National Guard Sgt. Ray Wormington said his mother's house was destroyed.
"We're the land of the plenty. We take it for granted," Wormington said. "At the same time, our town is becoming a ghost town, but we're fighting for a good cause."
Mayor Mark Peters said the property and sales tax base in the town of 1,400 people "is just gone, a major hit."
Tornado hits 154-year-old campus
The Associated Press
LIBERTY, Mo. - It's finals week at William Jewell College. But instead of focusing on exams, students and faculty at the small liberal arts school in suburban Kansas City are cleaning up the 154-year-old campus after a tornado ripped roofs off dormitories and took the clock tower from the chapel.
Finals were scheduled to begin yesterday but were canceled after Sunday's storms. Students have been told to go home, though graduation ceremonies are still on for Saturday.
The few students who remained on campus yesterday—
members of the student senate those who have family or friends near the campus and those with nowhere else to go were helping clean up debris.
"It's unbelievable," senior Jamie Roach said yesterday while taking a break that was forced by heavy rain.
Roach was in nearby Independence when the tornado hit. But it left a big hole in her dormitory, very close to her room, leaving her to wonder what it looks like now.
Like other students, she hasn't been able to get inside to gather her belongings.
But, like others, Roach also said she was "just glad everyone is safe."
No one was killed or seriously hurt, even though the most damaged areas were the dormitories and the student union. About 830 of the college's 1,200 students live on campus, but they took shelter in basements when they heard the tornado sirens.
"It could have been a lot worse," senior Nicole Adams said.
Adams and Roach will graduate this weekend in a ceremony at Pleasant Valley Baptist Church, instead of at the college's multipurpose center. Before commencement, however, seniors will be able to take the traditional "Walk around the Quad," led by bagpipers.
"It's a very important tradition for them," President David Sallee said.
The college remained without electricity yesterday. In Jewell Hall, the oldest building on campus, the clock is stopped at 5 p.m. — the hour the tornado hit.
Those still on campus have been eating meals outside, but yesterday, when it rained, they ate inside, by candlelight.
The college will count on insurance and donations to cover repairs, which officials estimate will cost between $15 million and $20 million. Sallee acknowledged that number is "a pretty wild guess."
HAWK NIGHTS PRESENTS
End of the year BBQ Baked Beans, potato chips and coke.
Hot dogs, bus
Live music featuring
Tanner Walle from 7pm-7:30,
Mark Lyda 7:30pm-8pm,
and DJ Paul Stucky 8pm-11pm.
MAY 8, 2003 *7:00 PM
Live music, bowling, pool & games, food, door prizes and massages all FREE.
- Hawks Nest
JAYBOWL, LEVEL 1
KANSAS UNION
SUA
student union activities
Coca-Cola
STUDENT
SENA
STUDENT
SENATE
ATTENTION ALL TRADITION KEEPERS!
FREE your mind with a FREE meal.
Finals Dinner for Tradition Keeper Members Monday, May 12 | Adams Alumni Center Stop by anytime between 5 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
We'll dish up an awesome gourmet buffet that is sure to cure your finals woes! Relax with a free shoulder massage and enjoy many other FREE perks!
Please RSVP to traditionkeepers@kualumni.org by May 8.
(If you haven't already received your Tradition Keeper benefits package,you can pick it up at dinner)
Stop by the Adams Alumni Center at 1266 Oread Avenue if youd like to become a Tradition Keeper. Finals Dinner is one of the many benefits of membership in the Kansas Alumni Association. Rock Chalk and good luck on finals!
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