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Published May 13, 2008 09:16 pm - Residents of Newton County’s storm-damaged areas scrambled Tuesday to shelter what remained of their homes and possessions from approaching storms while federal and state damage-assessment teams arrived. Residents hurry to secure homes, possessions as more storms loom By Derek Spellman dspellman@joplinglobe.com Residents of Newton County’s storm-damaged areas scrambled Tuesday to shelter what remained of their homes and possessions from approaching storms while federal and state damage-assessment teams arrived. Cleanup and salvage work was particularly brisk along the stretch of Highway 86 north of Racine, an area that was especially hard-hit by Saturday’s tornado. Under gray skies, homeowners, volunteers and utility crews worked to clear toppled trees, repair power lines, stretch tarps over damaged roofs and windows, or salvage possessions from the wreckage of homes in anticipation of more bad weather. Although most of the 14 storm fatalities in Newton County were reported around the intersection of Highway 43 and Iris Road, the area north of Racine bore the brunt of the storm’s structural havoc, said Gary Roark, emergency management director in Newton County. “As far as pure destruction, that’s the worst we have got,” he said. Huge trees along Highway 86 between Holly and Jute roads were toppled, snapped, splintered or blasted apart by the storm. At least a half-dozen homes along the highway were flattened or severely damaged. The work drew scores of volunteers to the area to cut and clear the downed trees and sift through the rubble, said Phil Weece, youth minister of Racine Christian Church. Weece and other church members were again on hand Tuesday to continue the work. Many of the affected families were members of the church. “There is a lot of people who need chain saws,” Weece said as he and several others cut away at a massive tree Tuesday afternoon. “The individuals who lived in this area got decimated.” Weece said a number of those homeowners are trying to cut up the downed trees and limbs into pieces that can be resold to loggers. The loggers would load up and carry away the debris. If nothing else, he said, it would help the people make a little bit of money and quickly clear away debris that only reminds people of the storm’s damage. As Weece and his crew used chain saws to cut up trees, Rick Hall and his family hurried to load up a few chairs, and some pots and pans from the wreckage of their house across the road before the expected bad weather hit. Part of a kitchen wall was about all that withstood Saturday’s tornado, Hall said, so the family was limited in what it could save. The members loaded what they could salvage into their two vehicles — one they own and one on loan from his wife’s workplace — so the materials could be taken to a friend’s barn for storage. Still, Hall said the family was fortunate. Although the house and another vehicle were destroyed, the family happened to be out of town during the weekend and escaped the storm. “We are here,” he said. “That’s the main thing. All this can be replaced.” 
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