Professional Documents
Culture Documents
CW | Drew Hoover The April 27 tornado passed directly through the Forest Lake neighborhood, leaving nothing but scattered rubble where many houses once stood. In this photo, only the cinder block outline of a house remains.
CW | Kelsey Stein Volunteers drive down Crescent Ridge Road in Holt, distributing food, water and other necessities to residents. By Stephen Walker Staff Reporter stephenwalker1986@gmail.com Photo courtesy of Houston Foreman Furniture and debris line 13th Street after the devestating April 27 tornado. former president of the Student Government Assosication, was at the Delta Kappa Epsilon house on University Boulevard when the tornado hit. Fowler watched as the tornado formed on the other side of BryantDenny Stadium, and then saw the destruction afterward on 15th Street. You can see clear from the Wendys on 15th to Midtown Village, he said Wednesday night. Theres nothing there. The trees and the buildings are all gone. On 15th Street and McFarland Boulevard, the tornado leveled restaurants and businesses familiar to UA students. That night, word spread quickly that Milos Hamburgers, Full Moon Supplies and donations continue to pour in for victims of the deadly tornado that destroyed parts of Tuscaloosa on Wednesday, April 27. Organizations such as the Red Cross and United Way have seen a continuous flow of donations into relief funds since shortly after the disaster happened. We did a telethon on ABC 33/40 a few nights after the disaster and raised $500,000 in just three hours, Red Cross spokeswoman Suzanne Horsley said. The money received by the Red Cross will be used to provide basic necessities to those affected by the storm. The Red Cross provides relief to those in immediate need, she said. We provide food, a safe place to stay, clothing and other basic needs.
Beyond a nightmare
UA senior James Fowler,
NLINE
View stories, photos, video, an interactive timeline, and a damage map online at cw.ua.edu Professors cope with lost homes Video: Walt Maddox speaks on recovery Slideshow of student-submitted photos
SPECIAL EDITION
We deal with people who have experienced trauma all the time, but not on this scale, Keyes said. [This] involves hundreds, if not thousands, of people. Other counselors and psychiatrists around Tuscaloosa and Northport opened their doors Monday for the first time since the tornado. Takesha Shannon from TMS Counseling LLC in Northport is one of those and said tornado victims should not delay getting the psychological treatment they need. Right now, people are more concerned with feeding themselves, getting their necessities met, she said. Its difficult for them to realize that their emotional needs also have to be a priority. These experiences can have lasting effects that can impact our ability to function. Shannon said 40 percent of her practice is college students and that UA and Stillman College have referred students to her in the past. Keyes said the UA Counseling Center is likely the best source for students with psychological needs because of their experience with college-aged patients. We only work with students, so we feel like we know students better than any other mental health providers, Keyes said. We understand more about their lives and the resources that are here for them on campus. You can think of us specializing in the age group that is usually here enrolled in school. The UA Counseling Center can be reached by calling 205348-3863.
FAST FACTS
The UA Counseling Center is located on Jackson Avenue across from the Law School. The Counseling Center is hosting a tornado support group Wednesdays at 7 p.m.
11,000 meals to victims and volunteers. The DKE house served as a major launching point for sending aid throughout the city. Students have provided aid in any way possible, some even going to their homes throughout the country and returning with food and supplies. One of the remarkable stories that has come out of this event has been the generosity of our students, Maddox said. We see hundreds, if not thousands, of students out volunteering on a daily basis. Students are giving back to Tuscaloosa in an unprecedented way, and I guess its easy to understand why. This is your city and you become attached to it.
AFTERMATH
Bar-B-Que and other locations were completely demolished. Students walked from their homes and apartments to see the area with their own eyes. Thursday morning, the daylight revealed just how widespread the destruction was. Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox surveyed the damage from a helicopter. This is going to be a very long process, he said Thursday. The amount of damage done is beyond a nightmare. Maddox estimated Thursday that the damage would total in the tens of millions of dollars, but by Monday, as the destruction across the city became even more apparent, the estimate for just debris removal became more than $100 million. Across the city, though, the cost of the storm is not only measured in dollars. Its measured in lives. Six students from the University of Alabama, two students from Shelton State Community College and one
We refuse to quit
Maddox and other local officials know the city is hurting, but they also believe it can rise up from the destruction and be rebuilt. Recovery is going in to places that have already been removed from the map and beginning a new day,
Maddox said. In Holt, the destruction of Brown Greenhouses did not mean the end of the business. Our customers told us not to quit, said Margaret Brown, the owner of Brown Greenhouses. Judge McCollum is optimistic about the areas recovery. We will come back from this, he said Thursday, and we will come back even stronger. A year from now, Maddox said he believes Tuscaloosa will still be reeling from the desolation, but the storm will not break the spirit of the city. A year from now, we will begin to see neighborhoods come to life, he said. What I hope to see is that this spirit of unity, this spirit of compassion and resiliency, will carry us through and make a new life here in Tuscaloosa. Were still here, were still fighting and we refuse to be defined by what happened on that terrible night. We decide for ourselves that what people will really remember us by is the fact that we got back on our feet. We refuse to quit, and were going to make this city a shining city on a hill.
EDITORIAL STAFF
Victor Luckerson, editor-inchief, editor@cw.ua.edu Jonathan Reed, managing editor, jonathanreedcw@gmail.com Brandee Easter, print production editor Will Tucker, news editor, wjtucker1@gmail.com Hannah Mask, assistant news editor Kelsey Stein, lifestyles editor Jason Galloway, sports editor Tony Tsoukalas, assistant sports editor Tray Smith, opinions editor Jasmine Cannon, reporter John Davis, reporter Stephen Dethrage, reporter William Evans, reporter Taylor Holland, reporter Katherine Martin, reporter Amanda Sams, reporter Patty Vaughan, reporter Stephen Walker, reporter Adam Greene, chief copy editor Parker White, copy editor Emily Johnson, design editor Drew Hoover, photo editor Megan Smith, assistant photo editor Katie Bennett, photographer Mitchell Hughes, photographer John Michael Simpson, photographer Caitlin Trotter, photographer Brian Connell, web editor Daniel Roth, multimedia editor Marion Steinberg, community manager, outreach@cw.ua.edu Wesley Vaughn, assistant community manager Malcolm Cammeron, community engagement team staff
The Crimson White would like to thank the following for providing shelter, electricity and food to the editorial staff during the past week: Brandee Easter, the Hawkins family, the Mayeld family and the Ofce of Student Media professional staff
The Crimson White is the community newspaper of The University of Alabama. The Crimson White is an editorially free newspaper produced by students. The University of Alabama cannot influence editorial decisions and editorial opinions are those of the editorial board and do not represent the official opinions of the University. Advertising offices of The Crimson White are on the first floor, Student Publications Building, 923 University Blvd. The advertising mailing address is P.O. Box 2389, Tuscaloosa, AL 35403-2389. The Crimson White (USPS 138020) is published four times weekly when classes are in session during Fall and Spring Semester except for the Monday after Spring Break and the Monday after Thanksgiving, and once a week when school is in session for the summer. Marked calendar provided. The Crimson White is provided for free up
to three issues. Any other papers are $1.00. The subscription rate for The Crimson White is $125 per year. Checks should be made payable to The University of Alabama and sent to: The Crimson White Subscription Department, P.O. Box 2389, Tuscaloosa, AL 35403-2389. The Crimson White is entered as periodical postage at Tuscaloosa, AL 35401. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Crimson White, P.O. Box 2389, Tuscaloosa, AL 35403-2389. All material contained herein, except advertising or where indicated otherwise, is Copyright 2010 by The Crimson White and protected under the Work Made for Hire and Periodical Publication categories of the U.S. copyright laws. Material herein may not be reprinted without the expressed, written permission of The Crimson White.
SPECIAL EDITION
FAST FACTS
To move into Rose Towers temporarily, call 205-348-7559. For help nding an available apartment visit the Housing for Tornado Victims Facebook page.
page and see whats open. Andrews launched the page around 9 a.m. Monday. He said there needed to be a more centralized location for people to find housing. Yesterday, I was talking to Warner Johnson at Duckworth Morris, and he said their phones were melting down from all the calls, he said. First, I thought about creating a blog, and then we ended up creating a Facebook page. The page lists apartments available for rent immediately and those that will become available for students in August. The page is also linked on the main page at housing.ua.edu. The University has already opened up the Rose Towers residence hall for displaced students, faculty and staff, said Alicia Browne, associate director for information and communication for Housing and Residential Communities. We have housing available in Rose Towers, she said. Those who are moving in now are students who lived off campus. Browne said Housing and Residential Communities is working with each displaced person individually to find the most appropriate housing arrangement for them. Students who need housing for the summer can apply to live in Rose Towers through the normal process on myBama, but will be charged the normal fee for summer housing, she said. Those who need housing can call the Rose Towers desk at 205-348-7559, she said. Greenwell said his housing situation is still uncertain, but he is trying to find a familiar place to stay first. The company he planned to rent from will have insurance adjustors assess the damage Tuesday, and then he will worry about housing for the fall. Im waiting to hear back from the place I was supposed to stay at, he said, and Im trying to see if the place Im staying at now has any openings. If they do, then Ill try to stay here.
Above: President Barack Obama visits tornado damage in the Alberta neighborhood in Tuscaloosa, Friday, April 29. Left: President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, greet residents in the Alberta neighborhood in Tuscaloosa, Friday, April 29, as they toured tornado damage. AP
called MIS Post Tornado to find and account for each other after Wednesdays tornado. Thats when [our efforts] really got organized, with the Facebook group, Givens said. We knew where half of everybody was by Friday and on Sunday we were able to confirm everybody. We did lose one student, Marcus Smith, a sophomore they found him Sunday. Otherwise, we were able to confirm that everybody else was alive, he said. Givens said that other than emails from the business school to its students, he was unaware of other concerted efforts to account for students by the University.
DONATIONS
Continued from page 1
Horsley said the tornado victims shouldnt have to worry about having their basic needs met. These people need to be able to get a hot meal, a cot and a blanket at the end of every day, she said. We provide that for them. Although the Red Cross doesnt actually cook the meals, it is instrumental in getting them to the affected areas. Many churches and restaurants have been cooking meals that we deliver to the hardest hit areas, she said. Thousands of people have been fed two hot meals a day by the Red Cross since the disaster. Yesterday, we fed 600 people for lunch and dinner in the
familys garage in her hometown of McKinney, Texas, into a drop-off location for supplies. A donation drive is something I can do from home, she said. Once we have collected the supplies, our plan is to head to Tuscaloosa and distribute the items we have gotten to those in need. Phillips said she hopes her actions will inspire others to do the same. I am hoping that by paying it forward, meaning that one family takes care of another, others will be inspired to do the same and we can rebuild Tuscaloosa in no time, she said. The University has created the UA Acts of Kindness Fund to assist employees and students affected by the tornado. More information can be found at ua.edu/tornadorelief.
SPECIAL EDTION
Monday, May 2, at the Moore Funeral Home Chapel. Atterton is survived by his father, Charles Atterton; mother, Nancy Atterton; brothers Brian Atterton and Chance Atterton; grandparents Paul and Gladys Atterton and Bud Hicks; cousins Amanda Hogan, Jessica Holloway, Dilyn Atterton, Lindsey Nipper; uncle Kenneth Atterton; aunts Robin Nipper and Donna Hogan and niece Alexus Atterton.
She could forgive you before you could apologize. Danielle loved with gusto, and never left a part of herself out of anything she was involved in. A funeral service was held Monday, May 2, at Annunciation of the Lord Catholic Church in Decatur, Ala. She was my best friend and still is, Downs sister, Michelle, said. I love her so much. Downs is survived by her parents, Ed and Terri Downs; sister, Michelle Downs; and grandmother, Inez Bordelon.
told the Dallas Morning News. As the storm approached Tuscaloosa on Wednesday, Harrison was at home with her boyfriend and two other friends. Harrisons uncle, Marion Perret, told WFAA TV that those inside the house took shelter in a closet as the tornado neared, but the tornado hit the house directly. Tinker and Harrisons two friends survived the storm.
Matilda Snow and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. Her visitation was held Sunday. May 1, and her funeral service was held Monday, May 2, at Crestview Memorial Funeral Home in Adamsville, Ala. She was buried in Mulga, Ala.
She would brighten the world around her and was kind, caring and loving, he said. She was also very artistic and loved art. She was the best of us and will be greatly missed. A funeral service was held Sunday, May 1, at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Bryant. Sigler is survived by her parents, Allan and Vega Sigler; brothers Eric Smith and Justin Sigler; grandparents Howard and Jean Sigler; niece and nephew, Blake and Sadie Smith and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.
hoped. His parents, his family, his friends and his community loved him, Pearson said. I havent heard anyone say that they wouldnt be proud of Marcus as their own. Thats impressive. A memorial service was held Tuesday at Northwood Church of Christ. A funeral service and burial will take place May 7 in Richmond, Va. Smith is survived by his parents, Robert and Jackie Smith, as well as an older brother.
remember is that everything happens for a reason. God allows things like this to happen for reasons we may never know, Kim Evans of Prattville, Ala., wrote on an online guest book dedicated to Brown. Grow in faith through this tragedy, and in time you will find peace, she wrote to Browns mother. A funeral service was held Monday, May 2, at New Home Baptist Church in Elmore. Brown is survived by her mother, Ashley Mims of Wetumpka, Ala., and her father, Shannon Brown of Madison, Ala.
them grow up and you know theyre close to getting their degree and going on with their lives. Then suddenly they dont have one. Stevens visitation was held Tuesday, May 3, at Somerville Church of God in Somerville, Ala. His funeral service will be held today at 11 a.m. at the same location. He was survived by his parents, Darrell and Carolyn Stevens; sister, Taylor Stevens; grandfather, Wayne Stevens; and grandparents, Bill and Ann Faulkner.
grandparents, Buddy and Myrtle Hodo. He is survived by his father, Willie Lee Turner, Jr., and his sister, Erika Wilson.
SPECIAL EDITION
Top: Residents clear debris in front of their home on Crescent Ridge Road. Left: Entire neighborhoods in Holt, including homes on Keene Drive, have been reduced to rubble. Top right: One Holt resident expresses frustration with the tornados destruction. Above right: Volunteers work to clear debris and begin rebuilding at Brown Greenhouses. Below: The storm intensied as it moved across Tuscaloosa, destroying much of the Holt community. CW | Kelsey Stein
SPECIAL EDITION
people like that. But her optimistic outlook is still sometimes compromised by what she experienced during and after the storm. Sometimes I cry, she said. But I cry in the bathroom or somewhere away from my children. I cant let my children see me crying. As the Robertses settled into their temporary shelter in Belk, 54-year-old Marion Conner slept in her house one of the few left standing in hopes of preventing looters from stealing more of her possessions just hours after the tornado. Our property was outside, and people were already taking it, she said. The fire department said it would be safe for us to stay there, so we did. However, other families in the community have lost much more. People were yelling for a boy named Justin, Conner said. We found him a day or so after in the morgue. He was blown out of his house. He was 14. Justin Leeric Thomas of the 2900 block of 10th Avenue East was found dead at 440 30th Place, almost four miles away. Conner said her son was
home when the tornado hit. She was working her job at Penny Profit Cleaners on 15th Street. He heard the tornado siren and told the other people at the house to take cover, she said. The dog and the back of the house blew away, so he ran back in and flipped the couch over and hid behind it, and the windows started busting. When the tornado passed, there were people screaming all over, Conners son said. He started pulling women and children out of the rubble, Conner said. Now, theyre working to put their life back together. Were working until were exhausted everyday, she said. Then we find somewhere to get a hot shower and lay our heads down, and then we start it all over again. A couple of days after the tornado, Conners 28-yearold daughter who lives in Californiafound a Facebook group dedicated to returning photos and documents discovered after the tornado to their original owners. She called and said, I was just online and I found this website, and the third photo they have is of you, Conner said.
Top: The police cordoned off the areas hit the hardest by the tornado. The public housing projects in Rosedale were only accessible to residents after many of the buildings were completely torn from their foundations. Center: Few walls were left standing in the Rosedale community, and winds were violent enough to move all of the cars on the street behind where this photo was taken. Violent winds ipped the car seen in the picture and dropped it onto the remains of a house. Above: Many houses in the Rosedale Community were completely destroyed by the tornado. Left: Residents of Rosedale Community gather to distribute food and water near the Tuscaloosa Public Housing Authority building on April 29. CW | Drew Hoover
SPECIAL EDITION
five cases of water, they have spent the last two days grilling hot dogs and hamburgers to give out to anyone in need. Weve bought a lot of water, but also trucks have come by with it, she said. Weve given out LSU water, Ole Miss water and Alpha Chi water. The support has been phenomenal. Despite the current abundance of supplies, Alberta will need volunteers and donations to aid the communitys recovery process over the coming weeks and months. Power will not be restored for at least four weeks. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is taking applications from displaced Alberta residents, but the process is slow. Tyner said he hopes search and recovery will be finished by next week, at which point cleanup will begin.
Above: An Alberta resident salvages his belongings from his home. Above left: The Texaco station at the intersection of University Boulevard and 25th Avenue East was destroyed by the tornado. Middle left: Houses and apartments on 7th Street East were directly in the path of the deadly storm. Left: Some Alberta residents have left religious messages and Bible verses on their demolished homes.
CW | Kelsey Stein
SPECIAL EDITION
CW | Kelsey Stein Homes throughout the Cedar Crest neighborhood off 15th Street were destroyed by the tornado. though, Morgan Sigler, Scott Atterton and Blake Peek werent so fortunate. When we went over there, I saw a group of people gathering, so I knew it was probably something bad that I didnt need to see, he said. One of the cancer doctors (David Hinton) had come out of [his son Dennis] house and was telling people [a man] was under a tree, and I knew I couldnt do anything for someone like that. But thats when a lot of feelings, emotions hit the experts are walking around, people who can do something are here ... I just had to turn around at that point and just get my stuff and get out, because I just couldnt deal with seeing anything too gruesome after being through all the trauma of that. Since the tornado, Poe said hes having a hard time sleeping. I finally fell asleep on my own, and I had a nightmare, he said. Its like an overwhelming anxiety of being about to be sucked out, because its just like the movies. My whole world was shaken; it wasnt just the ground and the house. It was just everything. You just wait for it to peak; you just come to terms with everything in life ... Its only something you can really replicate in your dreams.
After the storm hit, there was a time for shock, a time to be still and wonder why this happened. But on Sunday, four days after the disaster, Rombokas and Hawkins properties were filled with people they didnt know who were helping dig up whatever could be salvaged. Next door to Hawkins, at whats left of the Central Church of Christ, a line of Disaster Assistance Church of Christ volunteers worked quickly to organize and deliver
meals to victims and give away supplies and clothes to those who lost everything. Its incredible, Hawkins said. I was living in New Orleans and evacuated from Katrina. I went back down there, and there was a lot of support down there, but I have to say, in some degrees, I dont think near as much as what Ive seen here. The volunteers next door scrambled to help out under blazing heat. Many of them were not personally affected
by the storm. For them, that doesnt matter. No, thats not necessary, one of the volunteers said to a reporter after being asked for her name. Were just here to volunteer and help out. The Rombokas family took a small break from cleaning Sunday afternoon. Sam Rombokas set up a camera facing where the frame of their front door still stands. His wife, two children and grandchild shifted together in front of what was left of their house
while he set the timer on the camera. A wide smile stretched onto the face of Sams daughter as she pet her babys head. His wife and son followed suit as they watched the baby smile back, and before the camera was even ready, the entire family was beaming in front of their destroyed home. They had lost everything but still had each other. Were over the pity party and moving on, Rombokas said.