[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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