Officer Jefferson “Jeff” Taylor, who died after he was struck by lightning while helping in Joplin after the May 22 tornado, will be memorialized at the state Capitol.
He is one of nine late Missouri officers whose names will be placed Saturday on the Law Enforcement Memorial Wall overlooking the Missouri River as part of an annual statewide observance.
Taylor, 31, died June 3 of injuries he suffered May 23 at 32nd Street and Range Line Road, where he was standing in a parking lot after returning from a command post in the tornado zone. He had been a patrolman with the Riverside Police Department for six years.
The annual memorial observance will begin at 8 p.m. today with a candlelight vigil. Families of the officers will place memorial wreaths on the wall, and Gov. Jay Nixon and Attorney General Chris Koster will speak at a ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Joplin police Chief Lane Roberts said Taylor’s photograph is displayed on the local department’s Wall of Honor, and the city presented Taylor’s family with a Medal of Valor. The officer is commemorated on the city memorial to tornado victims in Cunningham Park. Taylor also is listed on a national memorial in Washington, D.C.
Roberts will pay tribute to Taylor at a speech he will give May 14 to the Concerns of Police Survivors organization during a meeting in Washington D.C. “I have done eight or nine presentations about the tornado, and in every one I take a moment to recognize Officer Taylor,” the chief said.
One of the two mobile home parks near the Joplin airport set up by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide temporary housing for displaced tornado survivors is named for Taylor.
May 2011 Joplin tornado
Fallen officer who aided Joplin to be memorialized
State to hold annual ceremony in Jefferson City
- May 2011 Joplin tornado
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Federal, state leaders salute Joplin’s recovery
A deadly May twister may have punched a hole in Joplin and Duquesne two years ago, but the resolve to repair it will help other communities stand strong when they face similar disasters. That was the message of state and national diginitaries to a crowd of about 2,500 who observed the second anniversary of Joplin’s devastating May 22, 2011, storm during a ceremony Wednesday in Cunningham Park.
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SLIDESHOW: One year later, One day of unity, updated
Photos from a day of events commemorating the May 22, 2011 tornado anniversary
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Banner from Joplin to be sent to Moore residents
A giant vinyl banner adorned with heartfelt messages from Joplin tornado survivors to the residents of Moore, Okla., became a centerpiece of Wednesday’s observance of the two-year anniversary of the May 22, 2011, tornado.
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Rick Rescorla award named for hero of Vietnam War, 9-11 terror attacks
The Rick Rescorla National Award for Resilience is named for a 62-year-old vice president of security for Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. who directed an evacuation of the company’s 2,700-person workforce in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2011.
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Community gearing up for two-year anniversary ceremony this afternoon
With the playground full of children, it could be any other day at Joplin’s Cunningham Park, but the white tents popping up and neat rows of white chairs lined up nearby indicate something more is happening today.
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Farmers Insurance teams up with Rebuild Joplin
Farmers Insurance announced Tuesday that the company will team up with Rebuild Joplin for an initiative to help the community complete its recovery efforts. The company already has placed one of its executives in Joplin, and it is pledging additional funds and volunteer hours by company workers to go toward the city’s recovery.
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Joplin man continues struggle to recover two years after tornado
As the Joplin tornado passed overhead, sweeping the house at 2430 S. Pennsylvania Ave. away in its wake, there was a moment of calm. Delbert Mcguirk was on his back in the basement, where he had sought shelter along with his wife, daughter and two grandchildren. In that moment of relative quiet, he stared up into the eye of the tornado.
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Storms cause damage throughout the Four States
Four-State Area residents hunkered down twice Monday to ride out tornadoes and powerful spring storms, then went to work cleaning up. The worst damage from Monday night’s storm was being reported in Ottawa County, Okla., near Wyandotte. That followed a report of an EF-1 tornado early Monday morning near Carthage.
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Two plead guilty to post-tornado wire theft
Two defendants pleaded guilty Monday to stealing copper wire from utility poles in the wake of the May 22, 2011, tornado that struck Joplin. Timothy M. Silveria, 45, of Joplin, and Nycoa K. Kracht, 32, of Laurel, Ind., entered open pleas of guilty in Jasper County Circuit Court to felony counts of theft from a public utility.
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FACES OF RECOVERY: 176,869 volunteers help put Joplin together again
They initially came in droves, pouring into Joplin by the thousands during the months following the May 2011 tornado to clear debris, clean up damaged homes and businesses and distribute donations of food, water, clothing and other necessities.
- More May 2011 Joplin tornado Headlines
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