RANDOLPH COUNTY— The clean up efforts are underway in Winchester after last Thursday’s EF-3 tornado.
“Immediately after a disaster is just most important to get the debris out to the road,” said Tyrel Hatfield.
Hatfield is a volunteer from Oklahoma who drove 15 hours with a group to help with the town’s cleanup efforts.
“We're no stranger to tornadoes, we've been hit a lot. And so we know what it feels like to be displaced from the home,” said Hatfield. “If we can give our neighbor some hope. That's what we want to do.”
Hatfield was joined by nearly 20 volunteers to help clean up debris at the Winchester Church of Christ that was complexly destroyed by Thursday’s severe weather.
A few miles east, other volunteers from the Randolph Eastern School Corporation had worked to gather hundreds of household items for anyone who has been displaced from their home.
“We've got families lost everything,” said Superintendent Aaron Black. “We have volunteers that have been at it for 48 working on 72 hours and very little sleep, but people aren't complaining. They just keep doing what's happening behind me. And the spirit is we're gonna do whatever it takes to put this place back together.“
Union City Jr-Sr. High School Principal, Jason Loomis is encouraged by the city’s early response.
“It’s a sad situation, but it makes me happy that people are so willing to step up and help," Loomis said.
