On a more serious note, it was 1 year ago today that my hometown was hit with an EF3 tornado with winds estimated at 140 mph. 7 people lost their lives in the county. Most of downtown was destroyed, but much progress has been made in just one year to rebuild. Estimated damage was at $215,000,000 for the entire county. The governor of Kentucky recently signed a bill that gave us $30 million to start rebuilding, which was the largest ever given to a Kentucky town following a disaster. Several new projects are in the works for rebuilding, but it will never look the same or the lives that were lost brought back. I personally knew two of the victims, a retired car dealership owner and his wife. He and my dad were best friends. May they rest in peace. Our little 'burg is having a memorial service tonight at 6:47 - the time when the tornado struck.
Here's a video of the destruction that aired on the CBS Evening News right after the tornado... Try to check it out if it's not too much trouble.
[youtube]4uVCI8LbCS0[/youtube]
Here's a pic of the tornado a friend of mine snapped just as it was approaching town....... I had a similar view from my house which is only about 3/4 mile from the center. Actually, if you look the houses in the treeline just above the roof of the white house, you can see my neighbor's house.... I'm only a few hundred feet beyond that. Waaay too close. Never want to see anything like that again in my lifetime. Had roof and gutter damage and several trees blown down, but nothing like the folks on Main Street. BTW, the little house and barn in the pic were completely destroyed.
[youtube]45IjTr140rk[/youtube]
