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SPECIAL AGRICULTURE DAYSALUTE. SEE 3B.nside...The LaRue CountyIndex...Herald NewsWednesday, March 7, 201211Move clocks forwardone hour Saturday night32 Pages7575¢Vol. 128, No. 9, Hodgenville, Ky.Tornadoes devastate neighborhoodsPhoto by Linda IrelandA pair of tornadoes struck LaRue County Wednesday morning, cutting a swath from Tanner Road to Stiles Ford Road. Above, firefighters ran toward aouse on Woebegona Way to check for storm victims just minutes after an EF-2 tornado passed through the area. No one was home there, but several ofheir neighbors were. One injury was reported. At least 19 homes and duplexes and three businesses were damaged.Residents share their storiesof Leap Day tornadoesBy LINDA IRELANDEditorMoments after a pairof tornadoes roaredthrough Hodgenville onFeb. 29 – Leap Day –residents walked outsidetheir homes toassess damage andattempt to reach lovedones. Many wore looksof shock and disbelief.Some became frustratedwhen their cellphones wouldn’t work,dropped the call orfailed to connect. Notowers were damaged,officials said. The phonefailure was the result ofso many calls jammingthe system.Others took photographsto record thePhoto by Linda IrelandHodgenville Mayor Terry Cruse spoke with Betty Sims as she was beingloaded into an ambulance. Sims suffered a broken arm when the tornadostruck her home Wednesday morning. Friends say she will need surgery.day’s events or post onFacebook.About 20 families,those hardest hit by thestorm, began theprocess of picking upthe pieces of their lives.More than one washeard to exclaim,“Thank God, we were soJoanna Hinton selectedas interim for school boardBy CANDIS CARPENTERStaff WriterKentucky EducationCommissioner TerryHoliday has appointedJoanna Hinton as aninterim member of theLaRue County SchoolBoard.Hinton will representschool board division 5,filling the seat left openafter Dick Greenwellresigned in November.She will serve the constituentsofHodgenville, MountSherman, Otter andJoanna HintonAtilla.“There was an opportunityat this point fora woman to come backonto the school boardand have that mother’svoice,” said Hinton. “Itwas something thatwas brought to myattention that theboard was lacking sinceAnita’s (Cruse) departure.”Hinton will serveuntil November 2012when the seat will comeopen for election. Theindividual that acquiresthe seat through electionwill remain on theboard until theNovember 2014 election.See BOARD, page 20Alucky.”The morning beganwith a tornado thatSee LEAP, page 17ANational Weather Serviceconfirms EF-2 tornado didbulk of damage in countyBy LINDA IRELANDEditorNineteen homes andthree businesses weredamaged after a pair oftornadoes cut a swaththrough LaRue CountyFeb. 29.The NationalWeather Service hasconfirmed that the“Leap Day” stormsbegan with an EF-1tornado that toucheddown on Kyle Street offTanner Road just after11 a.m. It ripped a rooffrom a house and scattereddebris across afield and roadway.The second, an EF-2tornado, touched downin south Hodgenvilleabout 11:15 a.m. withwind speeds estimatedat 111 to 135 miles perhour, according to theThe National WeatherService confirmed 11 tornadoestouched down inKentucky on Wednesday.Besides the two in LaRueCounty, there were two inMuhlenberg County, andone each in Hardin,Henderson, McCracken,Morgan, Pulaski, Russelland Grayson Counties.Seven of those tornadoeswere classified as EF-2,which means wind speedsreached up to 135 milesper hour. The other fourwere EF-1, with a maximumwind speed of 110miles per hour.More tornadoes struckKentucky Friday eveningand 20 people reportedlywere killed; however,LaRue County receivedonly minor damage.See EF-2, page 15ANEWSPAPER IN EDUCATION WEEK738 copies of The LaRue County Herald Newsare utilized weekly by teachersBy LINDA IRELANDEditorEach week, TheLaRue County HeraldNews supplies 738newspapers to teacherswho request them foruse in their classroom.Community partnerspay for half the cost of aregular subscription toeach class, while TheHerald News covers therest.Teachers use thenewspaper for practicalSee NIE, page 7APhoto by Linda IrelandAbraham Lincoln Elementary School third graderAspen Rose Moore, left, looks for vocabularywords in an issue of The LaRue County HeraldNews. At right is Marisa Benningfield.Discount.Discount.Discount.Get them all withDiscount Double Check.It’s a quick and easy way to make sureyou’re saving all you can. And it’s free.GET TO A BETTER STATE .CALL ME TODAY.1101246State Farm, Home Office,Bloomington, ILDenise A. BrooksAgent635 S. Lincoln Blvd.Hodgenville, KY 42748Bus: 270-358-9616denise.brooks.rfqm@statefarm.comOBITUARIESOPINIONRELIGIONCOMMUNITYSPORTSFARMCLASSIFIEDS3A6A8A10A1B3B7B

Wednesday, March 7, 2012 The LaRue County Herald News, Hodgenville, Ky. 17ALEAPContinued from page 1APhoto by Melanie WellsHodgenville Mayor Terry Cruse took a close look at one of the storm-damagedhouses on Woebegona Way.struck in HardinCounty along LincolnParkway. Little damagewas done in LaRueCounty at that time butmany areas lost power.There was a short lullbefore the next storm.John Smith, who livesnear KC Estates, saidhe was watching astorm alert on televisionwhen the tornado hit.He was unharmed butdid not have time totake cover.“They said ‘takecover,’ then ‘bam,’ ithit,” he said.Others reported hearingthe proverbial“freight train” noisebefore the tornadostruck. Others said theyheard the wind – ornothing at all.The NationalWeather Service said anEF-1 tornado, with windspeed up to 111 milesper hour, struck thehome of Jo Rita Harbinon Kyle Street about 11a.m.David Bell said hismother was in her bedroomwhen winds liftedthe roof from the residence.The only thingremaining over thatroom was the ceiling.The carport fell onHarbin’s car, which wastotaled. Metal roofingblew across TannerRoad and nine largepine trees were felledalong the property line.“She doesn’t remembermuch about it,” Bellsaid. “My step-brotherBrience Willian kickedin the door to check onher. She was fine – andvery lucky.”Two houses acrossfrom Harbin’s weredamaged. Windowsappeared to be brokenand shingles missing.Several minutes later,a second tornado, thisone a more powerfulEF-2 with wind speedsup to 135 miles perhour, struckHodgenville. The firstdamage appeared to beat Melvin Mortensen’shome and business onSouth LincolnBoulevard.Mortensen was insidehis garage and tire shopwhen the tornadoripped the roof from thebuilding and toppled asmaller outbuilding.Mortensen said he hadclimbed to a loft area toretrieve some paperworkwhen he heard theroof tear. He was able toreach safety.Mortensen’s friend,Jimmy Hornback,stopped by Thursdaymorning to check onhim – and the building.Hornback built the shopabout six years ago andhe wanted to see how itheld up.“He did a good job,”Mortensen said. Fourwalls stood and theequipment inside thebuilding was untouchedby the storm.Several trees weredamaged behind hishome but he said itwould make for goodfirewood.Friends helped himclean debris and gathertires from an adjacentfield.The storm skippedacross the street, strikinga white frame houseand knocking it from itsfoundation. A water linebroke, pouring waterinto the basement. Agas meter flopped on itsline and there was astrong smell of naturalgas in the area. Crewsarrived quickly to shutoff the line.The owner of the residencehad just appliedfor and been granted aconditional use permitto operate a businessfrom the home.Next door, shingleswere blown from theefficiency apartmentsand Cub Bank. StateFarm Insurance sufferedmore damage withbroken windows andinterior damage.State Farm employeeKelly Fitzpatrick saidshe and co-workers hadtaken shelter insideCub Bank during thestorm. When shewalked outside, she discoveredher car, a redImpala, had been pickedup by the funnel cloudand set on a co-worker’scar.Fitzpatrick’s car hada few dents. Her coworker’scar sufferedmore damage.“I’m very thankful noone was hurt and weweren’t in here when ithit,” said Fitzpatrick.The office was litteredwith broken glass anddrywall. The businessremains open duringrepairs.KC EstatesThe most structuraldamage occurred in KCEstates off SouthLincoln Boulevard onWoebegona Way. Somehomes appeared to haveexploded with insulation,metal siding, toysand housewares scatteredacross lawns.Firefighters entered residences,looking for anyonetrapped or injured.Betty Sims was insideher home, sitting at atable, when the tornadostruck, according tofriends. She suffered abroken arm that willprobably require surgery.She was transportedto HardinMemorial Hospital byLaRue County EMS.Her house appearedto be the most severelydamaged with one endand the roof completelygone.Friends arrivedThursday to help clearthe rubble from what isleft of her home.Next door, PaulMayfield said his wifeJennifer was at homewhen the storm hit.She had taken shelterwith her cats in a closetbut had stepped backout. She began seeing“pink snow” outside andrealized it was insulation,Paul said.She returned to thecloset.Mayfield works as asafety coordinator inElizabethtown. He saidthe experience made hisjob “more personal.”“We talk aboutstorms a lot,” he said.I’ve got a more personaltwist now.”Family members fromPaducah, as well astheir church family,gathered to help thempick up belongings anddeal with debris.Melissa Clark, wholives at the end of thestreet, was at work inElizabethtown when shelearned her neighborhoodhad been hit.Clark has a 2-yearolddaughter and a secondchild due in twoweeks. She was able tosalvage many of herdaughter’s clothes buther house is beyondrepair. She had locateda house to rentThursday and felt grateful“we have a place togo.”“My (daughter) tellsher friends, ‘My housefell down,’” she said. “Itold her daycare teacherthat if she says that tothem, it’s true.’”Across the street,Renee Patterson wasassessing the damage ather home.She was at home onher lunch break whenthe tornado camethrough. She heard thetornado warnings andtook shelter in a closetalong with her husbandBrian, daughter AshleyCollado and her husbandand 2-week-oldgrandson.The infant was in acar seat and Pattersonsaid she could “feel thecar seat trying to liftup.”“It’s a scary feelingwhen you can hear yourhouse tearing apart,”Patterson said. “It’s thescariest thing I’ve everbeen through.”“The first thing I saidafterwards was ‘Thankyou, Lord,’” addedPatterson. “It makesyou have a differentoutlook.”The family is stayingwith friends.A pair of duplexes onthe street suffered minimaldamage and residentswere able to moveback in by the weekend,according to PoliceChief Steve Johnson.Miami CourtThe tornado dumpeddebris in a low woodedarea at the end ofWoebegona Way beforeskipping over a fewhouses and dropping inMiami Court. There, aduplex lost its roof,some vehicles weredamaged and the LaRueCounty Headstart buildingwas damaged.Nathan Graham,maintenance assistantfor the HodgenvilleHousing Authority, saidhe watched the stormform. The street was“lucky,” he said, comparedto nearby damagedhomes.He was surprised bythe number of peoplewho drove into the areato sightsee after thedamage was reported.“It looked like a circus,”he said, “with allthe people drivingthrough.”Graham said severalchildren from theHeadstart programwere moved from theirDr. Celeste Seadlerwww.visionfirsteyecare.comPhoto by Linda IrelandA large tree outside a home on Stiles Ford Roadcaught several metal strips during the storm.Photo by Linda IrelandA stop sign on Stiles Ford Road was struck by alarge limb Wednesday.building to the diningarea inside theHodgenville HousingAuthority just beforethe storm hit.Housing AuthorityDirector Glenda Wathenconfirmed that staff andchildren were safelyinside the main buildingwhen the Headstartbuilding was damaged.The playground equipmentwas demolished.“They (children) werescared to death,”Wathen said. “But wewent to singing songsand we calmed themdown. When their parentspicked them up,they would point to thebuilding.”“It was chaos here forawhile (Wednesday)with these storms,”Wathen added. “Overall,we were blessed.”Workers planned toclean the Headstartbuilding and groundsFriday and Wathenhoped the buildingwould be repaired byTuesday.Stiles Ford RoadThe storm thenstruck Stiles Ford Road,flattening a barn and acouple of smaller outbuildings,taking oututility poles, breakingwindows and pullingshingles from DavidCopley’s house anddoing severe damage toa new home still underconstruction.Tim Sidebottom andhis brother KeithSidebottom were workinginside the home ofMichael and AmandaCissell when they realizedthey needed to takecover.Keith Sidebottom saidhe was headed downstairswhen the stormhit. He had hold of thebasement door andclosed it just as heheard window glassshatter upstairs.“Anybody in therewould have been cut upby the glass,” he said.Outside, the men’spickup truck slid sidewaysabout 10-feet inthe fresh gravel.Michael Cissell wasnext door and saw thestorm hit his home. Atrailer was overturnedand a refrigerator blowninto a field. The air conditioning/heatingunitwas damaged, windowsbroken, shingles rippedand bricks cracked.Amanda Cissell hadjust been approved for aconditional use permitto open a hair salon intheir home and theywere just two weeksfrom moving in.in Early Glaucoma Detection.Glaucoma is the leading cause of preventable blindness.Annual eye exams are essential as the most commontype of glaucoma develops gradually and painlessly,without symptoms.VisionFirst uses a breakthrough technology in earlyglaucoma detection. The GDx ® System provides arapid and accurate glaucoma evaluation through in-officedigital imaging.Call 270.358.8141 today to schedule an appointment.Dr. Celeste Seadler, Optometrist109 S. Walters Avenue, Hodgenville, KY 42748We welcome hundreds of health and vision plans including:VSP, Eyemed, Avesis, Aetna, Spectera, Davis Vision, BlockVision, Medicare, Medicaid, Anthem, Humana, and UnitedHealthcare.