May 2011 Joplin tornado

May 2011 Joplin tornado

Joplin High School slated for demolition
For Galen McKinley, the connection to Joplin High School runs deep. His class was the first to go all three years — 10th through 12th grades at the time — after the new high school was built on Indiana Avenue. He graduated in 1961.

February 15, 2012 3 Photos 1 Story
CVB out of tornado maps
There are no more tornado maps. “They’re all gone, and we didn’t print more,” said Patrick Tuttle, director of the Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau, of the map of the tornado zone his department distributed that created a public controversy in mid-January.

February 21, 2012
83-year-old receives standing ovation after recalling storm, aftermath
Several dignitaries spoke Tuesday morning at the ceremony marking the reopening of Mercy Village, but it was an 83-year-old woman who earned the only standing ovation. Bonnie Betz, who survived the 2003 Carl Junction tornado, lost her husband to complications related to Alzheimer’s on May 22, 2007.

February 21, 2012 1 Photo
Mercy Village reopens doors in wake of storm
Maxine Bayliff said she had good reason to enjoy a piece of celebratory sheet cake on Tuesday. She was home for the first time in nine months. Bayliff, 84, is one of 60 low-income senior residents of Joplin who survived the May 22 tornado but were displaced by it when their home, Mercy Village, was left uninhabitable.

February 21, 2012 1 Photo 1 Slideshow
Organizers planning ‘spectacular prom’
For Joplin High School students, this year’s prom, with the help of volunteers and area sponsors, may be something out of a fairy tale.
After the May 22 tornado, students didn’t know whether they would have a school to attend, let alone a prom.

February 20, 2012
Irving parents see design of new elementary school
Architects for the new Irving Elementary on Thursday night showcased features of the proposed school, answered questions and took suggestions. Jim Stufflebeam, vice president of Sapp Design Associates Architects based in Springfield, gave a presentation to about 30 parents, students and school employees at the district’s administrative offices.

February 16, 2012
Home’s morning commute termed ‘absolutely perfect’
It took 55 minutes Thursday morning to move the “Volunteer House” at 2502 S. Joplin Ave. to its new home in Schifferdecker Park. “It went absolutely perfectly,” said David Glenn, a commercial real estate broker in Joplin who volunteered to supervise the preservation effort for the city.

February 16, 2012 1 Photo 1 Slideshow
Governor stumps for homebuilding volunteers
Not everyone can play for the St. Louis Cardinals or the Kansas City Chiefs, but all are invited to team up with the major athletic organization of their choice to build 35 houses this summer with Joplin Area Habitat for Humanity.

February 16, 2012
JHS graduates share memories
With the demolition of a high school building spelling the end of an era for innumerable students over more than 50 years, the Globe asked alumni for their memories of the structure that undoubtedly played a big role in part of their lives.
What follows is some of those recollections.

February 16, 2012
Residents look at future zoning plans
Tracy Allan Cope visited Joplin City Hall on Tuesday night to see what is in store for her old neighborhood. She had lived near 20th Street and Delaware Avenue, but her house was destroyed by the May 22 tornado. Instead of rebuilding, she bought a house built in an earlier era on the city’s north side.

February 14, 2012
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