Mon, May 12 2008
|
|
Published May 03, 2008 07:16 pm - CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Police operate out of a new police station. A new junior high school should be ready for students in August. And the city will soon begin constructing a new community building, which will house city hall and a senior center. Carl Junction has made full recovery By Joe Hadsall jhadsall@joplinglobe.com CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Police operate out of a new police station. A new junior high school should be ready for students in August. And the city will soon begin constructing a new community building, which will house city hall and a senior center. Carl Junction is better now than it was before May 4, 2003. So say some community leaders. “If we didn’t have the (December) ice storm, I don’t think you could tell that a tornado hit,” said Steve Lawver, director of community economic development. “Everything has been fixed or repaired.” Though five years is long enough for buildings to be rebuilt, it is not enough time for the memories to fade. Phil Cook, superintendent of the Carl Junction R-1 School District, still gets emotional recalling the damage to schools, and the community’s response. “As I walked around the buildings after the storm, there had to be 200 people who I didn’t know,” Cook said. “They said they would get the kids back in school. They weren’t even from Carl Junction, and they were bound and determined to get the buildings ready.” Every one of the district’s schools sustained some sort of damage in the tornado. The storm caused about $6.5 million in damage to the district and about $3 million to the city. More than 500 homes and 20 businesses were damaged, including City Hall and headquarters of the Carl Junction Fire Protection District. “When I got to the station after the storm, I saw a rack of fire hoses sitting outside,” Chief Bill Dunn said. “At first I thought, ‘Who would leave that outside?’ Then I realized no one moved it. The wall was gone.” Rebuilding began almost immediately. Lawver said most buildings were rebuilt within 18 months. Cook said schools were ready for students that August. Though the tornado caused destruction, it also prompted a lot of beneficial rebirth, Dunn said. “In all honesty, the town is in better shape now that it was before the tornado,” Dunn said. “A lot of old houses were rebuilt or repaired.” 
•
Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.
More from the Joplin Herald section
Area children run in 22nd annual Kids’ Classic Hundreds turn out for casino job fair Monthly events to include live music, art and classic films Forever stamps selling ahead of rate increase Area residents cite difficulty dealing with jump in fuel prices |
Print this story
E-mail this story
Post to del.icio.us
Discuss this story
 |
 |
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
 |
The Joplin Globe Publishing Company 117 East Fourth Street, Joplin, MO 64801 Using our site is your agreement to the terms and conditions. News: news@joplinglobe.com • (417)623-3480 Advertise with the Joplin Globe Copyright © 2006 The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO All rights reserved. |
Popular Business directory links - Joplin Apartments | Joplin Attorneys | Joplin Auto Dealers | Joplin Auto Parts | Joplin Auto Repair | Joplin Beauty Salons | Joplin Car Rental | Joplin Dentists | Joplin Doctors | Joplin Flowers | Joplin Hotels | Joplin Insurance | Joplin Loans | Joplin Mortgages | Joplin Movers | Joplin Pizza | Joplin Realtors | Joplin Restaurants | Joplin Storage | Joplin Tax Preparation | Joplin Travel | Joplin Featured | More...
|
|
Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. • CNHI Classified Advertising Network • CNHI News Service 
|