Southern Illinois is slowly recovering
By Matt Hawkins,
Marion
Thanks for mentioning Southern Illinois in your opinion piece [“Mesocyclone victims need public’s help,” May 12]. We appreciate your thoughts, and we’ll gladly return any favors to our Northern Illinois brethren.
As an Erie native, I thought I’d seen a lot of Mother Nature with frequent Rock River floods and the windstorm in my youth. However, the “inland hurricane” on May 8 topped anything I’ve seen. It felt like it came out of nowhere, then turned into a phenomenon that likely will be studied by meteorologists for years to come.
While the storm impressed me – and left me with a bloody nose while trying to get a story for the Marion Daily Republican – the people of Southern Illinois impressed me more.
Despite electricity’s absence and trees down everywhere, Williamson County residents banded together. Within hours of the last raindrops leaving the county, chain saws hummed and grills fired as people began attacking trees and leftover frozen food.
Neighborhood feasts popped up as residents enjoyed themselves despite the damage. Chain saw crews from local churches, the Southern Baptist Convention, Free Will Baptists, Mennonites and others swarmed the region.
A local radio station aided the region by shifting to 24/7 storm coverage. The folks at Carterville-based River Radio deserve applause for providing timely information and keeping people calm while the region was in the dark.
Church congregations met Sunday morning despite the lack of power.
We’re indebted to thousands of line crew members who have worked nonstop to restore power to Williamson, Jackson and surrounding counties.
While the region still is a mess, damage should have been worse. There easily could have been more property damage and more than one reported death. Numerous residents shared tales of falling trees missing homes by inches or landing on reinforced beams.
It will be a while before affected counties return to normal. Street crews still have countless runs to dump sites to clear away the debris, and damaged buildings will take a while to repair.
But, Southern Illinoisans are a hardy bunch and will pull together until the last home is patched.
Anyone wishing to contribute to recovery efforts may contact the American Red Cross, Little Egypt Network based in Murphysboro: 665 N. Airport Road, Murphysboro, IL 62966. In the memo, write “Southern Illinois tornado.” They also may be reached at 618-529-1525.
Note to readers – Matt Hawkins is a reporter for the Marion Daily Republican. He is a 2006 graduate of Huntington University, Huntington, Ind. In 2004 and 2005, he was a summer reporting intern for Sauk Valley Newspapers.
