[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 90 (Wednesday, June 16, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H4571-H4572]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       TRIBUTE TO THE VICTIMS OF THE NORTHWESTERN OHIO TORNADOES

  (Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize and pay tribute to the 
men and women and children who lost their lives and were wounded in the 
tornadoes that ravaged northwestern Ohio on June 5 and 6. And that 
disaster prematurely took the lives of six people. We are talking about 
Wood County, Fulton County, Ottawa County, across Sandusky County, and 
adjacent counties.
  Madison Walters has been tragically orphaned while her family, Mary 
and Ryan Walters and their 4-year-old son, Hayden, were all killed. We 
also remember Ted Kranz, Kathy Hammitt, and Bailey Bowman. Over $100 
million of estimated damage occurred. Lake High School was leveled. So 
many businesses, homes, farms affected.
  While this is a story of pain, it is also a story of hope and human 
goodness, as waves of thousands of volunteers have come to try to help 
and assist those facing such destruction. I would like to submit two 
articles for the record that detail examples of this compassion. And it 
shows to us again the signs of a great Nation that binds together, and 
neighbor helping neighbor.
  I urge the administration, in the strongest manner possible, to 
declare our region a Federal disaster area so necessary aid can flow to 
those whose lives have been so dramatically affected in a region 
already suffering from economic recession.

                 [From toledoblade.com, June 11, 2010]

Help, Hope From Volunteers Lift Spirits in Tornado-Wrecked Towns; More 
               Than 1,600 People Turn Out To Lend a Hand

                       (By Claudia Boyd-Barrett)

       Millbury resident Tim Miller has lost his house, and he 
     wants to say thank you.
       Not to the tornado which left him and his family homeless 
     last weekend, but to the hundreds of people--most of whom he 
     doesn't know--who have come to help pick up the pieces.
       Thursday, on what remained of his back deck and next to a 
     hole in the ground that was once his house, Mr. Miller 
     perched a handwritten sign addressed to the volunteers. It 
     read ``Thank You Everyone.''
       ``I have to,'' Mr. Miller said. ``All these people come out 
     and help you out, you've gotta thank them somehow.''
       With volunteers and emergency crews continuing to pour into 
     Wood, Fulton, and Ottawa counties Thursday, recovery and 
     cleanup efforts were moving full-speed.
       In Lake Township, site of some of the worst devastation, 
     Police Chief Mark Hummer said he expected the bulk of the 
     cleanup to be done by Saturday. After that, there will be 
     small debris to pick up and rebuilding efforts will begin, he 
     said.
       Volunteers included schoolchildren, adults taking time off 
     work, retirees, nonprofit groups, and businesspeople.
       Among them, a dozen employees from the Shelly Co. in 
     Findlay and children from a little league baseball team 
     ferried hundreds of hamburgers, hotdogs, and refreshments to 
     residents and other volunteers in the Lake Township area.
       Nine-year-old Ryan Kerr was one of the volunteers. He said 
     he wanted to help ``because I feel really bad about all the 
     people losing their homes.'' And, he added, ``it's fun.'' 
     Recruitment of volunteers has been so successful that the 
     United Way announced it would close two of its volunteer 
     reception centers today. With so much of the general cleanup 
     work done, there is only need for specialized volunteers, the 
     agency said.
       ``The community's response has been absolutely 
     tremendous,'' Bill Kitson, United Way of Greater Toledo 
     president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. 
     ``In the past three days, we have deployed more than 1,600 
     volunteers to help with clean-up efforts. I'm truly at a loss 
     for words.''
       The closed centers were at Grace United Methodist Church at 
     601 East Boundary St. in Perrysburg and at the Mainstreet 
     Church at 705 North Main St. in Walbridge.
       United Way officials said that if people still wish to 
     volunteer and think their specialized skills can be used in 
     restoration efforts, they should call 2-1-1 and give their 
     personal information for reference.
       General volunteers are needed in Ottawa and Fulton 
     counties, however. In Fulton County, volunteers can go to 
     Shiloh Christian Union Church, 2100 County Road 5, between 9 
     a.m. and 6 p.m. today while the location will change to the 
     Swancreek Township Hall, 5565 County Road D for the weekend. 
     Ottawa County has a volunteer reception center at Genoa High 
     School.
       Bill Walker, the emergency management director for Erie 
     County who has been helping out in Ottawa County, said the 
     cleanup there would likely continue into next week.
       ``There's still a lot of work to do,'' he said. ``But it's 
     way better than what it was.''
       Amid the cleanup efforts, emergency officials also worked 
     to ensure the area is prepared for future storms. They tested 
     sirens yesterday across Wood County and one siren in Lake 
     Township failed to sound. The siren, outside the fire station 
     on Ayers Road, was fixed within a few hours.
       Police Chief Mark Hummer said the siren had electrical 
     problems and may have been struck by lightning.
       It was not known whether any other sirens failed to work 
     during the testing that lasted about three minutes and 
     started at noon.
       The Lake Township site where the siren wasn't working is 
     the closest location to an area of Millbury that was among 
     the hardest hit in the township.
       Lake Township fire Chief Todd Walters said the siren was 
     tested a week ago and was working when the tornado hit on 
     Saturday night. Other sirens that were activated Thursday in 
     Lake Township were at the Municipal Building in Millbury, 
     Walbridge behind the police department, and on East Broadway 
     in news conference yesterday morning, the township's police 
     and fire chiefs encouraged people to prepare for future 
     storms by having a battery-operated radio, as well as food 
     and water in a safe area of the house, on hand at all times.
       According to the National Weather Service, there is a 
     chance of showers and thunderstorms today and through the 
     weekend, but severe weather conditions have not been 
     predicted.
       Also yesterday, Ohio Department of Transportation Director 
     Jolene Molitoris toured the storm-ravaged areas and spoke 
     with officials involved in the recovery efforts. She pledged 
     continued help by ODOT crews in clearing roads and making 
     them safe for emergency personnel and the public.
       Ms. Molitoris said she was inspired to see the progress 
     made by the various government agencies on the ground and by 
     volunteers.
       ``Everybody is a team and there's a power in working 
     together,'' Ms. Molitoris said. ``It reminds us of what it 
     means to be Ohioans.''
       In another sign that things are slowly recovering, the Lake 
     Township Police Department moved to a former Ohio Highway 
     Patrol substation on Lemoyne Road. Emergency dispatchers for 
     the Lake Township Fire Department and EMS will continue to 
     work out of the Northwood police dispatch center, however.
       Meanwhile, others were recovering on a more personal level. 
     After losing the house they had moved into just three weeks 
     ago to

[[Page H4572]]

     the tornado, Melody Kisseberth and her fiancee, Steve Avers, 
     said they are gradually coming to terms with their ordeal.
       ``I was devastated for days, but now I'm trying to see the 
     bright side,'' Ms. Kisseberth said, as she picked up the 
     debris along with dozens of volunteers. ``I realized we need 
     to be thankful because there's a lot of people worse off than 
     us.''
                                  ____


                 [From toledoblade.com, June 15, 2010]

        Relatives Pull Together for Girl Orphaned After Tornado

                          (By the Blade staff)

       The extended family of a 7-year-old left orphaned and 
     homeless by the June 5 tornadoes said Monday they are 
     ``pulling together'' to protect the little girl.
       Madison Walters' mother, Mary Walters, 36, and her 4-year-
     old brother, Hayden, were killed shortly after a powerful 
     tornado struck the family home in Millbury, Ohio, ripping off 
     the second story.
       Her father, Ryan Walters, 37, who was critically injured, 
     died Sunday at Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo.
       Madison was released Sunday from the same hospital after 
     days of treatment for broken bones. Her aunt, Amy Sigler, 
     said the child is being cared for by family members.
       ``She is doing well and is surrounded by her loving 
     family,'' Mrs. Sigler said.
       Barbara Walters, Mr. Walters' mother, said she was not 
     surprised at her son's passing, but the family had hoped for 
     a better outcome. She said the couple left a will ``with 
     specific instructions'' for Madison.
       The family declined to give specifics about which family 
     members she will live with, citing a desire for privacy.
       Mr. Walters will be buried Friday with his wife and son in 
     Lake Township cemetery, Barbara Walters said.
       Mrs. Sigler described her brother-in-law, a long-distance 
     runner, as an ``exemplary'' father and husband who dedicated 
     many volunteer hours to help manage the computer systems at 
     Mainstreet Church in Walbridge.
       She said faith in God is helping the family cope with their 
     grief.
       ``God's grace is amazing,'' she said. ``We know we're going 
     to see him again.''
       Mr. and Mrs. Walters apparently were asleep in an upstairs 
     bedroom of their Main Street house when the tornado struck. 
     Their children were asleep in the same part of the house, 
     family members said.
       The house appears to have been in the direct path of at 
     least one tornado, and was flattened to the foundation.
       Mrs. Sigler, who lives in nearby Northwood, said she tried 
     to call her sister to warn her about the approaching storm. 
     She had watched news reports of violent thunderstorms moving 
     across northwest Ohio, and knew the family was asleep. ``The 
     phone just rang and rang,'' she said the day after the storm 
     hit. ``I knew as soon as it hit and she didn't call that 
     something was wrong.''
       The storm was one of northwest Ohio's worst.
       The others killed include Ted Kranz, 46, who died after 
     part of his Case Road home fell on him after he left his 
     basement to check on a generator; Wauseon resident Kathy 
     Hammitt, 56, who was en route for home along State Rt. 795 
     after visiting her husband at a nearby hospital, and Bailey 
     Bowman, a 20-year-old mother of a 2-year-old boy, who was 
     killed as she tried to seek shelter at the Lake Township 
     police building.

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