Parkersburg, Ia. - For outsiders, it's tempting to =
wonder=20
if this city of 1,900 in northeast Iowa won't be better off =
than it=20
was before 4:59 p.m. May 25, 2008.
At that minute, a =
tornado=20
rated an EF5 destroyed a full third of Parkersburg's homes =
and=20
businesses, injured at least 70 people, and killed six =
residents=20
here and two in nearby New Hartford. A seventh Parkersburg =
resident=20
died months later from her injuries.
One trying year =
later,=20
what was a scene of death and destruction looks like a =
booming hub=20
of Butler County. More than 180 homes have been rebuilt, =
many of=20
them bigger and on larger lots. Thirteen of the 15 =
businesses=20
destroyed have reopened in updated buildings, or will soon, =
and two=20
new businesses have moved in. City Hall reopened in new =
quarters,=20
and a new high school is on track to accept students this =
fall.
![3DAdvertisement=20](3D"http://www.desmoinesregister.com/graphics/adlabel_horz.gif")
"I've had people say to me, 'How can you still believe in =
God=20
after this?' " Parkersburg Police Chief Chris Luhring said. =
"I say,=20
'How can you not?' "
The effectiveness of =
Parkersburg's=20
recovery won't be fully known for another four years or so, =
one=20
researcher said, but after one year it has the potential to =
emerge=20
as a national model in disaster recovery.
"Some =
places don't=20
ever come back the same way after a disaster like that - the =
places=20
are a ghost of themselves," said Jack Rozdilsky, an =
assistant=20
professor at the University of North Texas whose study of =
disaster=20
recovery has included the three EF5 tornadoes to hit Midwest =
cities=20
since 1999.
One crucial aspect to Parkersburg's recovery, he said, is =
that=20
government, businesses and residents are rebuilding =
simultaneously,=20
their energy feeding off one another. It also helped that =
the=20
community was tightly knit before the tornado.
"The =
social=20
fabric took a blow," he said. "But it's =
rebounded."
For all=20
their successes, the people of Parkersburg would trade it =
all to go=20
back in time and lift their town out of the tornado's reach, =
according to Parkersburg City Clerk Gary Hinders. As much as =
they=20
might like how the city is shaping up, they wouldn't want to =
go=20
through the pain and suffering and hard work again. They =
lost=20
personal possessions and lives. They took on more debt to =
carry=20
on.
"I don't know one person who says, 'Oh, I'm glad =
we had=20
the tornado,' " Hinders said.
Majority of homeowners = stay;=20 valuations on rise
Then: Lifelong resident Judy Hughes, 57, said the tornado =
stripped her house of everything but its shell. Roof, =
siding,=20
windows - all were gone. Her neighbor's house was leveled.=20
Altogether, 282 homes were destroyed and another 150 to 200 =
were=20
damaged.
Now: As of last week, 182 houses have been =
rebuilt=20
or are in some stage of construction, according to the city. =
More=20
are on the way.
Most are being built by original homeowners, Hinders =
said. Many=20
residents chose to stay where they were, while others moved =
to=20
larger lots.
There are also new residents building in =
Parkersburg, as well as some speculators putting up houses =
in hopes=20
of selling them, Hinders said.
Altogether, Hinders =
figured=20
the city will come out with 70 to 80 fewer houses than it =
had before=20
the tornado, but their total value will be =
greater.
"It's=20
going to be a shock" for homeowners, Hinders said. "Property =
tax is=20
going to go up."
As for the population, Hinders figures the city will =
break even=20
around 1,900. City leaders had expected the population to =
reach=20
2,000 in the next census, but any possible gains were likely =
lost as=20
some residents left after the tornado.
Hughes has =
rebuilt her=20
house, as well as the house of her late father. She said it =
is=20
unimaginable how quickly the city is coming back.
"It =
was=20
good before. Now it's even better," she said. "I guess there =
has to=20
be a bright side of the nastiness."
She said she =
recently=20
drove through Greensburg, Kan., which was destroyed by an =
EF5=20
tornado in 2007 and which is being rebuilt with a focus on =
green=20
construction. Parkersburg looks like it is rebuilding much =
more=20
rapidly, she said.
"Sometimes when you get kicked in =
the=20
teeth, you come back and fight a little harder," she =
said.
New $18 million high = school will be=20 ready in August
Then: Viewed from the tornado's path, = Aplington-Parkersburg High=20 School looked to have come through in decent shape. It was = around to=20 the northeast side of the building where the extensive = damage became=20 apparent - and why the building was later considered a total = loss.
The gym had collapsed, as had the northernmost academic =
wing. In=20
the athletic fields, pieces of plywood were sticking in the=20
ground.
"Just like a knife thrown down into the =
ground -=20
that's what it looked like, except it was big pieces of =
wood,"=20
Superintendent Jon Thompson said.
Luckily, no one was =
in the=20
building at the time. The biggest loss was to the class of =
2009,=20
whose members have spent their final year studying at an =
elementary=20
and middle school building in Aplington.
Now: If construction stays on schedule, members of the =
class of=20
2010 will begin and end their final year in a new $18 =
million high=20
school.
Thompson said the academic portion of the new =
high=20
school should be ready by Aug. 15. That would give =
administrators=20
and teachers nine days to move in before school starts Aug.=20
24.
"That's a pretty quick pace," Thompson =
said.
The=20
high school is a second home for many students, he said, and =
the new=20
one will be better than the old. The facility will have =
larger=20
classrooms, two gyms instead of one, a new auditorium and a =
more=20
centralized commons area. A majority of the building is =
being paid=20
for from insurance money and a bond issue for a new =
auditorium that=20
was approved before the tornado.
Junior Ariel Young, 17, of Parkersburg, said she felt bad =
for the=20
seniors not being able to enjoy the new high =
school.
"They=20
supported it just as much as everyone else did," she said. =
"Because=20
they knew someday their kids would go to it."
That's =
what she=20
said. Her friends used to talk about life after leaving =
Parkersburg,=20
she explained, but after the experience of the community =
rallying=20
together, they talk of returning home after =
college.
CITY=20
HALL REBUILT, BUT OTHER MUNICIPAL NEEDS STILL LOOM
Then: City Hall was a pile of rubble topped with =
overturned cars=20
following the tornado.
Hinders said he spent two days =
digging=20
through the debris and salvaged many of the city's important =
files,=20
including cemetery records and the books of council minutes =
-=20
windows into Parkersburg's history.
About six weeks =
after May=20
25, city employees resumed operations from a double-wide =
trailer=20
located near the city's water treatment plant.
The =
tornado=20
cut the city's $85 million in property value in half, which=20
threatened the budget for fiscal year 2011 because of how =
Iowa's=20
property taxes lag behind assessments.
Now: A new $459,000 City Hall sits where the old building =
originally was, paid with insurance money and federal and =
state=20
disaster aid. It still needs landscaping and a resurfaced =
parking=20
lot, but the building was ready for employees by April =
23.
As=20
for the city's finances, Parkersburg leaders face some tough =
patches, Hinders said.
Homes and businesses were =
rebuilt=20
quickly enough that much of the property value has already =
been=20
regained, and should soon be back to pre-tornado levels, =
Hinders=20
said.
It's too early to know for sure, but Hinders guessed the =
city=20
would face a dip in property taxes of about $150,000 for =
fiscal year=20
2011. That's a big hit to a city budget that has averaged =
$1.5=20
million in recent years, but it's no longer Hinders' biggest =
concern.
Now he's worried more about future street or =
sewer=20
repairs caused by the tornado but not immediately apparent. =
Without=20
proof that they were caused by the disaster, the city may =
have to=20
foot the bill for those on its own as opposed to being able =
to use=20
disaster aid or insurance.
Rebuilding business: = Family to hand=20 off grocery store
Then: Parkersburg lost 15 businesses to the tornado, =
including=20
restaurants, banks, a gas station and the city's only =
grocery=20
store.
Now: Virgil Goodrich, director of economic=20
development, said 13 businesses have reopened in new =
buildings or=20
expect to do so soon.
"We're probably 60 percent back =
to=20
fully functioning," Goodrich said. "The others ones aren't =
going to=20
be far behind. By the end of the summer, we should pretty =
well be=20
all back."
The city lost a GM car dealer but gained a Ford dealer. =
One of=20
the two restaurants lost won't come back, but the number of=20
businesses breaks even with the addition of a cell phone =
store. It=20
is located in a new business park that the city helped build =
by=20
borrowing $725,000 from 13 rural electric =
companies.
The=20
grocery store's owners, Blake and Kathy Simon, both in their =
early=20
50s, were ready to get out of the business after 20 years, =
Blake=20
Simon said.
"After you sit back and don't have to go back to work for =
a=20
couple of weeks, it's nice to have your life back," he said. =
"There's more to life than working."
The Simons =
recognized=20
the store's importance to the community, and decided to =
rebuild.=20
They will lease-to-sell it to new owners.
It will be =
called=20
Brothers Market, after new owners Jay, Darian and Jared =
DeVries, who=20
grew up in Aplington and graduated from =
Aplington-Parkersburg High=20
School.
Each has gone on to a successful career elsewhere. Jay is =
a=20
financial adviser in Des Moines. Darian is an assistant =
coach for=20
the Creighton University men's basketball team in Omaha. =
Jared plays=20
professional football with the Detroit Lions.
But =
they wanted=20
to help the people who helped them get to where they are =
today and=20
saw their investment in the grocery store as a way to give =
something=20
back.
"They all played a critical role in all our =
lives,"=20
Jared DeVries said.
Restoring playgrounds and = parks
Then: Before the tornado, it seemed every child in town =
had a=20
playground or sandbox or some place to play in his or her =
backyard,=20
Police Chief Luhring said. But after the storm, in a town =
littered=20
with rubble, there was almost nowhere for youngsters to burn =
their=20
excess energy.
The first place the tornado hit was =
the park=20
on the city's west end, flattening swing sets and shooting =
holes the=20
size of cannonballs in the metal slide. Half of the =
playground=20
equipment at the elementary school survived, but that was =
soon torn=20
down to make way for portable classrooms.
Luhring had already started losing weight from the extra =
long=20
hours he was putting in when his wife, Elicia, challenged =
him to do=20
more.
What has anybody done for the kids of =
Parkersburg? she=20
asked him.
Now: With help from others, Luhring raised =
$250,000 from donors outside the city for playground =
equipment, an=20
amount matched by Miracle Recreation Equipment of=20
Missouri.
That was enough to buy playground equipment =
for the=20
city parks at the east and west ends of the city, as well as =
for one=20
to be built on the high school grounds near the city's =
center.
The red slides and climbing walls will occupy 3-year-old =
Eli=20
Thorne.
"The kids are ready to get in there," he told =
his mom=20
from the back seat of a minivan as she drove past one of the =
playgrounds on a tour with visitors.
What was City =
Park has=20
been renamed Miracle Park, partly out of recognition for the =
equipment company's grant but also for what residents say is =
another=20
miracle: that no children were killed in the tornado.
Restoring trees will take = decades
Then: Many of the trees in the tornado's path remained in =
the=20
ground after it had passed, but they were largely=20
lifeless.
Resident Valerie Thorne, Eli's mother, said =
the=20
city skyline looked like a cornfield after harvest, except =
the=20
"stalks" were the 20-foot trunks of once-majestic trees that =
had=20
been completely stripped of their bark.
Deemed =
unsafe, most=20
were cut down. It was like a death in the family for Thorne, =
a loss=20
that is quickly understood but which takes a long time to =
fully sink=20
in.
"You just knew it was different. Wrong - it felt wrong," =
she=20
said. "It didn't feel like home."
Now: Thorne is=20
co-chairwoman of the newly formed "tree board," which has =
received=20
$20,000 in grants and donated trees to help replant=20
Parkersburg.
So far, an estimated 500 to 700 trees =
have been=20
planted at parks, businesses and residences.
"Is it =
enough?=20
Probably not," she said.
But, she added, "You have to =
start=20
now."
![3D"Gannett](3D"http://www.desmoinesregister.com/graphics/partner_gannett.gif")
=20
![3D"USA](3D"http://www.desmoinesregister.com/graphics/partner_usat.gif")
![3Dcars.com=20](3D"http://www.desmoinesregister.com/graphics/partner_cars.gif")
![3DCareerBuilder=20](3D"http://www.desmoinesregister.com/graphics/partner_jobs.gif")
![3DHomeScape=20](3D"http://www.desmoinesregister.com/graphics/partner_homes.gif")
![3DUSAWeekend.com=20](3D"http://www.desmoinesregister.com/gcicommonfiles/sr/graphics/common=)