Hush falls over village where eight residents lost lives in tornado

BY JESSICA L. ABERLE
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE

UTICA — No one spoke.

Rescue workers. Residents. Strangers. Individually and sometimes in pairs, silently stared Thursday at a hole in the ground from where emergency personnel pulled the lifeless bodies of eight Utica-area residents.

A water bottle filled with purple lilacs sat propped upright by two pieces of stone from what was the Milestone Tap, the beginnings of a memorial to those who lost their lives when a tornado powered by winds of up to 200 mph hit this LaSalle County town on Tuesday.

"The memorial’s something new I see," LaSalle County Sheriff Tom Templeton noticed late Thursday afternoon. "That’s kind of nice," he said walking away quietly.

Most of the town remained closed by barricades and caution tape guarded by local and state police. A few residents secured police passes Thursday to tour the town. Someone started the memorial.

Power was restored to 75 percent of the community of less than 1,000 by afternoon, water service also was restored to all habitable residences. Most streets were cleared of debris. Progress was evident.

Residents and volunteers James and Cathy Smith have seen tremendous progress, since that fateful night.

"It was like being in an atomic war zone," James Smith said.

But nothing can erase their memories of digging for survivors just moments after a devastating twister tore through the community. "It wasn’t five minutes that we were downtown trying to figure out what we could do," Cathy Smith said. "I helped take bricks off where they pulled that little boy out," James Smith said, adding residents, firefighters and rescue workers were on the scene moments after the winds died down.

"Any guy or girl that was able to move rock was doing it," he said. "I could hear the people yelling. That’s when we stopped because we thought it was gonna cave in."

Rescuers pulled five survivors from the basement of the popular tavern and eatery where residents from a nearby mobile home park had sought shelter.

Due to the instability of many businesses and residences, Templeton wants to keep the number of volunteers to a minimum.

Bricks fell on a regular basis from some of the 15 downtown shops damaged by the storm. A few could collapse without notice, he feared. The steeple atop St. Mary’s Catholic Church leaned alarmingly.

"We’re worried as hell" of people getting injured during cleanup, Templeton said. "When we say ‘thank you’ it’s just mere words. But there’s so much more than words can convey."

But now, Templeton said no more volunteers are needed. He wants to limit cleanup to trained work crews so no one else gets hurt.

When he arrived in town minutes after the twister, residents were on top of buildings that had collapsed. Streets were covered, piled in debris. "You could smell gas," he said. "I got to the corner and I couldn’t believe it."

And while debris removal moved quickly, Templeton estimated it would be another week before the community could really think about rebuilding.

"Search and rescue is over," said Templeton. "It’s recovery now."

DECLARING DISASTER

Dozens of homes and virtually every building in the entire downtown business district suffered some damage, but structural engineers, business owners and emergency management crews were hesitant Thursday to say it all had to come down.

Federal Emergency Management Agency teams toured residential and business areas along with Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the United States Small Business Administration. The teams were looking to estimate residential and business damage as well as public service damage and cleanup costs.

"What we’re going to do is assess all this information and then determine what the shortfalls are," said Ron Sherman, FEMA damage assessment team leader.

Dave Smith, chief of disaster assistance and preparedness for IEMA, said teams were in all four affected counties (LaSalle, Putnam, Will and Kankakee) by 10 a.m. Thursday and anticipated having good damage estimates and data to give to the governor by noon today.

The governor already made disaster declarations in the four counties Wednesday and sent a letter to President Bush Thursday requesting a federal designation.

Smith said a federal disaster declaration has to come straight from the president. At that point, federal money and services becomes available.

REBUILD AND REBOUND

After the tree limbs, insulation, siding, cars and general debris have been swept away, there still will be much work to do.

"We just can’t do it all in a couple of days," Utica Mayor Fred Esmond said.

Esmond said plans already are under way for a memorial service for those killed in the storm. Details on that service and the next steps for the town should come at a community meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. today at Starved Rock Lodge.

"A good place to have it would be right in front (of the Milestone), right downtown," Esmond said of the memorial service.

Residents and business owners can come with questions and requests for assistance. One thing is certain, however, Utica will come back better than ever, Esmond said.

"As we rebuild we want to keep the historic storefronts," Esmond said, adding tourism makes up 60 percent to 70 percent of the town’s business. A committee to oversee the historical reconstruction likely could be formed at the community meeting.

While some businesses will have to come down, Melissa Harmon doesn’t think her Canal Port Bar and Grill will be one of those slated for demolition. Harmon and friends sat inside eating a late lunch Thursday.

"I’ve got work to do, but structurally I think I’m OK," Harmon said, adding that some water and roof damage and a blown-out window won’t keep her from reopening as soon as officials reopen the town. "If I had electricity I’d make you some fried mushrooms," she told the sheriff.

"Everybody’s gonna be great. We’re gonna build better, faster and stronger than we were before," Harmon said. "We may have lost some of the charm but we’re going to reinvent ourselves into something fabulous."

HEALING EMOTIONS

The American Red Cross, previously stationed at the Baptist Church, was moving Wednesday afternoon to the severely damaged grade school, where classes have been cancelled until at least Monday.

Crews worked to clear the area surrounding the school that will serve as a command center, Red Cross family service center and LaSalle County Health Department clinic.

Sharon Knukle, a mental health specialist with the Red Cross was called to the scene about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, just hours after her town — Granville — also was devastated by the same storm.

"The first night I worked in Granville before it became an official Red Cross mission," Knukle said. But her home only suffered minor damage and her mental health expertise was needed immediately in Utica.

After working about 20 straight hours, Knukle admitted she "got a little choked up." This disaster, her first tornado, hit just a little too close to home. "How is Granville?" she asked.

Esmond said both communities will need to heal as the shock starts to wear off.

"We don’t want to get depressed," Esmond said of keeping everyone’s spirits up. "It’s a sad loss of life, you have sadness in your heart, but you have to keep moving on."