Tornado

JOPLIN, Mo. - For the past month, residents have dug through the rubble, hoping to salvage items from their houses destroyed by the May 22nd tornado.  Now, during the next phase of the clean-up, crews will remove and haul-away the debris that once constituted those thousands of homes.   On Friday the city began it's 'Expedited Debris Removal' program.  City leaders say the goal is to remove as much debris in as short amount of time possible.  The process will focus on the residential areas of the city.

BRANSON, Mo. -- A year after the Leap Day tornado, workers were cleaning up this week at Charlie's Steak Ribs and Ale on the Missouri 76 strip.  They were putting finishing touches on a new building. "It's exciting, it's really exciting," said manager Mark Turner, "because I'm in the same position I was a year ago. " On Feb. 28, 2012, Turner was sorting through applications for his summer staff, planning to hire more people than ever for what was supposed to be a busy summer season.

The National Weather Service confirmed that it was an EF1 tornado that tore through parts of Laclede, Stone, Webster and Christian Counties late last night.  "I felt like I was on a real hard roller coaster," said Jessica Barnes.  She was sleeping in her mobile home in Christian County near East Barnes, when the storm rolled through.   "You just don't think it will ever happen to you. " Around 12:30 this morning, she woke up to a sound that she can't quite describe.  "(It was)

BRANSON, Mo. - Rubble, empty lots and for sale signs -- that's just part of what people see when they drive the Branson strip. Beneath the bright lights of Branson, cleanup still continues from the Leap Day tornado. Many people are wondering when or if the town will return to the way it was. It could be years before every damaged property is up and running again. Some business owners say they will wait a while until the national economy bounces back. The tornado damaged roughly 52 commercial properties.

JOPLIN, Mo--Monday marks three months since an EF five tornado touched down in Joplin. The twister killed 160 people and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses. While it will take years to rebuild the city, there's something to be said for how much progress has been made in just a few weeks. Rangeline Road is known as the business district. A section of the road took a direct hit. "There's been tons of debris removed from the city so that alone kinda brings some normalcy back to the city itself," said Nick Wiersma with Convoy of Hope.

Branson, Mo. -- Blossom, a seven-year-old service dog, never strays far from Roger Lang's side.  The constant companion is the only thing Lang had left after the Leap Day tornado leveled his mobile home in Taney County. "The tree came down on top of trailer, and the ceiling came down and trapped me from my knees down," Lang said. An organization set up to help people like Lang and the more than 250 families suddenly left homeless after the Leap Day tornado received a major donation Tuesday.

JOPLIN, Mo. -- The disaster response in Joplin was the topic of another special state legislative committee meeting on Monday.  The House Interim Committee on Disaster Recovery, chaired by Rep. Shane Schoeller, R-Willard, met at the campus of Missouri Southern State University. Schoeller says he wants to hear from residents and city officials about issues they've faced in rebuilding from the tornado.  Ultimately, lawmakers must decide if they want to lobby Gov. Jay Nixon to call a special session to provide more funding for Joplin's tornado and massive flooding in northwest and southeast Missouri.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster filed a lawsuit on Friday against an Indiana construction company for taking money from Joplin tornado victims without doing the promised work. After the Joplin tornado in May 2011, Four Seasons Roofing agreed to contracts with several tornado victims to repair damaged homes. According to the lawsuit, the company never returned to do the work despite repeated promises to its customers. Several homeowners were left with unfinished roofs and to spend more money to hire other roofers to finish the jobs.

Pierce City is the site of this week's Friday Football Focus game.  Most think of the May 4, 2003, tornado when hey think of the town, but there's much more.  One of the gems of the city is St. Mary's Catholic Church.  The parish goes back to the 1880s, when the city needed a second Catholic church to handle the increased German and Polish immigrants. The pastor of the church, Fr. Peter Morciniec, is from Poland.  He's been in southwest Missouri or more than 30-years.  With only 6% of the local population Catholic, Fr. Peter takes pride in working with other churches to help the local community.

BRANSON, Mo. -- The Oscar Mayer company handed over a big check to a charity this week to help rebuild homes in Joplin.  Crystal Lee Wolfe won $100,000 in a Facebook contest to get the donation for the Christian Association of Table Rock Lake. Wolfe logged her good deeds around the Branson area, and was then voted to the winner's circle by Oscar Mayer's Facebook fans.  The money will help families with no roofs over their heads after the tornado on May 22.