"The Joplin Tornado" is really "THE Tornado", to our neighbors.

17th and Rangeline - I took this early on May 23rd

After Hurricane Katrina, in 2005, news reports spoke of people who had been forgotten by their Government and how they were isolated.  Later, we all learned these reports were exaggerated and generally misreported, but the memory etched into our minds illustrates the power of media.

I would like to tell a story about the absence of media and what it means to our neighbors.  This is going to seem strange, but this story is about the “Joplin Tornado of May 22, 2011”.  I know you are thinking to yourself….Steve is crazy, because there was no absence of media – everyone in the World knows about the “Joplin Tornado”.  Well, you are correct and you are also sadly mistaken.  What?

You see, the World does know about the “Joplin” Tornado, but what has been forgotten is OUR neighbors.  Nearly 200 Newton County residents have sought disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.  Two Hundred Families!  In a “normal” disaster that would be a significant number; however, this disaster was not in any way “normal”.

As I write this Editorial, it has been nearly 5 weeks since the most deadly American Tornado in 60 years and one of the most widely reported by our technologically overloaded society.  However, today I was speaking to a friend, Sherry Dodson.  Sherry used to be a police officer with me in Neosho and at one time she lived on Marten Road, in rural Diamond, Mo. Today, Sherry lives in Sedalia, Mo.  

For those of you familiar with the area, Sherry lived in the nice quaint house immediately north of the KAMO Power substation.  Sherry asked how things were in the area and how the recovery was going.  I told her how lucky the new occupants of her old home were and she was confused.  She asked what I meant.  I explained the tornado barely missed her old house.  She thought I was crazy and then I realized, she did not know how bad it really was.  No one knows.  This is the story of the people forgotten in all of the World wide media coverage.

In no way do I minimize the loss of life in Joplin, I lived it first hand.  I personally lost a friend and several acquaintances, shy of losing my home or my family – I know the real pain of the Tornado and what it did, better than most anyone. 

However, it is unfortunate it’s being called The “Joplin” Tornado.  Why?  Because, it went for miles across Newton County emotionally chewing up people’s life long possessions and their homes.   Places where Newton Countians had lived for generations were destroyed, as if the Big Bad Wolf had come calling and their homes were made from straw.

Take a drive from the area of Highway FF and Jaguar Road, across the lesser known meandering terrain conquered by this beast and you will discover addresses ranging along Jaguar, Aspen, Kodiak, Marten, Beech, and Lark Roads – then continuing across Missouri Highway 59 Just North of Diamond to Pelican, Cherry, Quail, and Raven Roads.  This was not the “Joplin” tornado to the people along these roads, this was “THE” tornado.  It affected our neighbors as horrifically as the better reported and much better known start of the storm. 

Newton County residents lost their homes and all their belongings, just like so many unfortunate souls a few miles to the North, along an imaginary line making the difference between two counties. 

As your prepare to volunteer or send money for the worthy relief efforts, which will be ongoing for months and most likely years, please don’t forget the unknown victims of this tragedy.  If you are able, drive some of the roads, I have mentioned, and stop to ask if the farmers or homeowners need help cleaning up their lives – ask what we can do to make them whole again.  They need us, every bit as much as the others affected need us, so please join with me in lending a hand and showing the victims of “THE Tornado” our Love and Support.

***Columnist’s Note: a detailed map of the damage area in Newton County from this storm and a secondary storm affecting the Wentworth Area, maybe found by visiting the following web site sponsored by the National Weather Service:   http://www.crh.noaa.gov/sgf/?n=event_2011may22_summary