DUQUESNE, Mo. —
In many ways, the theme Duquesne has adopted for its part of the Walk of Unity on Tuesday is a good description, Mayor Denny White said, of the residents and the volunteers who came to help after the May 22 tornado.
Of the approximately 750 homes in Duquesne, 450 had some sort of damage, including more than 200 that were demolished by the EF-5 tornado. Nine people died in the storm in Duquesne.
Most of the damaged homes have been repaired, and building permits have been issued for projects to replace many of the homes that were destroyed.
“To their credit, most homeowners are building back bigger and better than before,” White said. “We couldn’t have made it through the last year without the hard work of our residents and everyone who came to help.”
So, Duquesne has adopted “going the extra mile” for its part of the walk, representing the extra distance residents will travel and the extra effort that has taken place there in the past year.
White said residents will start at 1:30 p.m. at the traffic roundabout at 20th Street and Duquesne Road. They will walk along 20th Street and then along 17th Street, joining the start of the Joplin walk at 2:30 p.m. in the Wal-Mart parking lot at 15th Street and Range Line Road. The 3.7-mile walk along the path of the tornado through Joplin will end at Cunningham Park.
“We’re inviting residents and anyone else to join us and walk as far as they want,” White said. “Southwest Missouri Bank is providing T-shirts that say ‘Going the extra mile.’”
Terry Ingram, city clerk, said the city has issued building permits for about 150 new homes, and about 50 have been completed so far. She said the city lost between 30 and 40 free-standing businesses, in addition to businesses operated in residents’ homes. Building permits have been issued for projects to replace 35 of the demolished businesses; 15 are complete.
One of the businesses that was leveled belonged to the mayor. Denny’s Auto Sales has been rebuilt at its original location, 2301 Duquesne Road.
“We moved until we could build back,” White said. “We opened our new building Aug. 31. Homes and businesses are back. We’re rolling along now.”
He said workers hired by the Workforce Investment Board and funded by the federal Department of Labor are cleaning up the remnants of tornado debris along city streets.
And, he said, officials are allowing Duquesne City Hall to be used as a meeting place for post-storm support groups being run by Ozark Center and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“Those just started,” White said. “For all the help we’ve received from other people and groups, sharing our building is the least we can do.”
At one point after the storm, the hall contained a food pantry and a clothing distribution center.
“We’ve had a lot of help from Joplin, and from emergency workers and volunteers who came from all over the place,” White said. “One of the days when we were feeding volunteers and workers, we fed over 700.”
Be careful
ON TUESDAY, 20th Street will remain open. Police will help with traffic control along the route, Duquesne Mayor Denny White said.
May 2011 Joplin tornado
Duquesne residents to go ‘extra mile' as part of Walk of Unity
- May 2011 Joplin tornado
-
-
Joplin insurance agent seeks donations for Moore, Okla.
After losing an office building and her home in the tornado on May 22, 2011, Loretta Bailey is familiar with the destruction that a tornado brings. The 400 households that her insurance agency helped through the aftermath of the tornado also know that loss. \
-
SLIDESHOW: One year later, One day of unity, updated
Photos from a day of events commemorating the May 22, 2011 tornado anniversary
-
Joplin team drove through storm to get to Moore
It was a long drive in the middle of a severe thunderstorm that had earlier produced a massive tornado in Moore, Okla. With the two-year anniversary of Joplin’s deadly twister approaching on Wednesday, a team of 14 Joplin emergency workers was ready to risk the trip in order to get help to a hurting Moore.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
- More May 2011 Joplin tornado Headlines
-
