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Saturday, 12 April 2008 |
 Paula Bowman, right, a storm victim from Timberlake subdivision in Haskell, thanks volunteers Claudia Nichols, left, and Brenda Lincoln at Northside Church of Christ, 917 N. East St. in Benton. Volunteers helped distribute supplies to storm victims. Northside received supplies through the National Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort Inc. The church is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Saturday and from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday to distribute supplies, including food, water, tarps, baby items, some furniture, bedding and more.
Courier StaffThe American Red Cross shelter at First Pentecostal Church in Bryant began the process of closing Friday.
The church, located just north of Hurricane Creek Mobile Home Park on Arkansas 5 North, has been home for several days for many of the park’s residents who sought refuge following last week’s storms in Saline County.
The mobile home park was one of several areas affected by the storms. The area had been without electrical power and water until Friday, but utilities have been restored and many residents are returning, state Sen. Shane Broadway, D-Bryant, said.
Kenneth Scott, one of the people displaced by the tornado, was among those returning to his trailer in the park Friday, but was doing so with an additional burden: Scott’s wife, who has been hospitalized for several weeks, died Thursday night in a Little Rock hospital.
Scott’s other family member, his dog Pierre, returned with him to the trailer.
The poodle had been under the care of the Humane Society of Saline County since Sunday, but he picked him up at the animal shelter in Bauxite, which is continuing to take in displaced pets from the mobile home park and other storm-ravaged areas.
Broadway said supplies will remain at the church until an anticipated public meeting is held at the church. The meeting will be scheduled once Saline County is declared a disaster area by the federal government, he said.
All of the required paperwork for the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been submitted, and now it’s just a waiting game.
Gov. Mike Beebe declared Saline County, along with four other counties, a disaster last week following the storms that produced three tornadoes and severe flooding in the county.
Broadway said: “We will invite people to take what’s left of the supplies, such as water, clothing and other items, when we have that meeting.”
For people needing essential supplies or to obtain other needs and make their requests known, Northside Church of Christ, located at 917 N. East St. in Benton, will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon to 3 p.m. on Sundays, Broadway said.
Staff writer Lynda Hollenbeck contributed to this story. |
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