February 13, 2007
Sylvester-- A tornado hasn't been confirmed in Sylvester but that's what some people say must have caused damage there. One street took the brunt of the storm but the brunt of the work is still ahead.
Afternoon storms spilled tons of peanuts at Farm Commodities on Isabella Street. Strong wind and rain toppled two heavy bins full of the crop. They now lay in the wet mud. People in Sylvester didn't know what hit them.
"There were things flying all over the place," said Mark Howard. The storm didn't stop there. It knocked down speed limit barriers and traveled south on Isabella Street to the Wellness Center, where things aren't so well.
"Just peeled the, peeled the roof right off," said Howard. Parts of the roof were stripped away and now hang down the building. Parts of a covered walkway, now uncovered. It's shell now lays in a tree and field several feet away. Mark Howard from the Wellness Center is still trying to take it all in.
"It's amazing. the top of this pine tree also came off. It's right here. As you see the insulation is all swirled because the top of the tree came from here but the insulation ends up in the top of the tree," said Howard. And that's just on the outside. There's another picture, the view from inside. It's nothing but wet, soggy, damage after the rain had no other place to go. It took some things with it.
"You can replace furniture but some things you cant replace," said Howard. The area of the building served as storage. Antique furniture and lots of important papers are now destroyed. But people are tossing the bad and trying to salvage what's good.
"Try to move it to higher ground or whatever," said Howard. Even though they're amazed at whatever happened, they're even more amazed by what didn't. No one was hurt. "It's just the grace of God really that nobody was here," said Howard.
Hard work will continue here as the clouds roll away to prove that Sylvester can weather the storm.
No one was injured at the Wellness Center or at Farm Commodities but that could have been different. Kids were scheduled to be at the Wellness Center Wednesday. People at Farm Commodities say people could have been near those two heavy bins when they fell.
The storm also caused some power outages in Sylvester. Water, Gas and Light and Mitchell EMC Crews were out quickly to take care of the problem.
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