Tornado

JOPLIN, Mo. -- It's been four-and-a-half months since the tornado hit Joplin on May 22.  Still, volunteers continue to pour in to help. "Photographs -- that's your memories that's your history," Joplin resident Linda Harryman said. For some in Joplin, their history was harmed by the EF5 tornado. Harryman was getting her sister's wedding picture repaired on Friday.  The tornado ripped, wrinkled and wore some of the photo away but it's one of the only pictures not lost by the high winds.

SPRINGFIELD, -- The Multi-Agency Relief Center or MARC in Branson closed this weekend. The one stop shop for tornado victims helped more than 300 families. Tuesday will mark two weeks since the tornadoes devastated parts of the Ozarks. Since that time, Governor Jay Nixon has requested federal aid and other funding has started to make its way here. The Red Cross is making long term plans with hundreds of families affected by the storms. Most of those getting assistance are low income, unemployed and uninsured.

BRANSON, Mo. - Many signs of progress are evident, including active construction sites up and down the Missouri 76 strip.  Still, though, stark reminders remain of the tornado that hit on Leap Day 2012. Eight tornadoes roared across the Ozarks in the early morning hours of Feb. 29, killing two people and injuring 53.  The most extensive damage happened in Taney and Stone Counties when an EF-2 tornado cut a path of damage from Kimberling City, through the heart of Branson, to eastern Taney County near Protem.

Branson, Mo. --  At Grandma Ruth's Cinnamon Rolls , they use unbleached flour, pure cinnamon, and loads of butter in every homemade batch. "It was my grandma's recipe.  Then my mom and I kinda revised a little bit over the years," said Rod Grueneich, one of the owners of the cinnamon roll bakery. Grueneich and his mother, affectionately known as Grandma Ruth, make dozens of cinnamon rolls from scratch every morning.  They typically start mixing the dough at 4:30 a.m. "It's a comfort food," Grueneich said.

JOPLIN, Mo. -- Within sight of the destroyed St. John's Regional Medical Center, electrician Mark Bond looked over one of his job sites on Thursday.  Roughly 200 to 300 pounds of electrical copper wire was stolen on Wednesday night.  Bond says, for every one bad story like this that he's experienced in Joplin, there are seven more good stories. "Everybody here, longtime and short time residents, there was a feeling that we were united and it came forward (on May 22)," said Bond.

ROLLA, Mo. -- It's not the New Year's Eve that Ethyl Price's family expected.  "Anything we find has sentimental value," said Ethyl's daughter-in-law. Instead of celebrating with her, they're mourning the loss of her.  "I've always been petrified of storms.  I've seen damage.  I just never thought it would hit our family," said granddaughter Lisa Price. After a day of battling critical injuries, the 76-year-old woman became the 4th Missourian to lose her life at the hands of an EF-3 tornado that ripped through Rolla at midday Friday.

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. -- One of "man's best friends" brought some hope to a community recovering from the New Year's Eve tornado outbreak.  Asher is a 3-year-old Australian shepherd that disappeared after his family's home was swept away. "There was one missing link to our family that held us back from moving on," said Norma Mitchell, owner of the dog. There were scattered reports of Asher being sighted on the post.  The Mitchell family eventually secured new housing, and began the search for Asher.

Emily Wood:  "It's hard to believe, Ron, that it's been a year since that time, and what a difference a year makes. " Ron Hearst:  "Yeah, really.  A year ago at this time, Dave Snider was here, and he was working. I was at home, Brandon was at home, and we were all conversing on the phone.  We were watching this massive storm come out of Wichita area toward Chinook, Kansas, come eastward into Joplin.  And that thing had just a huge, huge hook echo on it.  We were really very concerned about that.  We were starting to mobilize what we do back here, because we knew it was eventually going to come into our area.  And had that storm kept going east, Emily, it would have affected the south side of Springfield.  But fortunately it turned right and kind of weakened substantially as it went down through Stone County.  It did produce some tornadoes down there eventually, but it didn't do the damage that it did over in Joplin.

JOPLIN, Mo.-- It's called the Hope Station and it's the first of its kind in the country. The station started a few weeks ago, but went through a rough start because it was hard to find a permanent location. The Hope Station is teaming up with Wildwood Baptist Church on 20th street. The station will provide a place for victims and volunteers to take a break. People can listen to music, play games and just talk. Organizers say a place like this is necessary. "You can have all the bottles of water, all the nails and the wood that you could possibly imagine, but if the Joplin residents lose hope, there's no way to rebuild," said Stephanie Tillman, with the Hope Station.

GASSVILLE, Ark.-- A tornado siren sits silent in a north Arkansas town hit by a tornado in recent history.  Mother Nature has silenced one of Gassville's two sirens. It's been just over five years since Gassville was hit.  One person was killed, and now, folks take tornadoes very serious.  The February 2008 tornado took a direct hit on a mobile home park and destroyed several businesses. "The city's really rebuilt and come a long way since then," says Gassville Mayor Jeff Braim.

The tornado in Moore, Oklahoma has killed 24 people, but many who survived have lost everything. We are compiling a list of reputable organizations that you can donate to and help the people affected by the storm. RELIEF ORGANIZATIONS / NONPROFITS Convoy of Hope: Text "Convoy" to 50555 to make an automatic $10 donation. The organization's website also has a page dedicated to donations for the victims in Moore. The Salvation Army: Text "STORM" to 80888 or donate using the Moore tornado donation form on the Salvation Army's website.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - International humanitarian relief organization Convoy of Hope has an assessment team on the ground in the Oklahoma City area where a massive tornado struck the southeastern suburb of Moore, Okla.   “Our prayers are with the families who have been affected by the tornado,” says Hal Donaldson, president of Convoy of Hope. “Our team on the ground is already providing crucial information that will help us as we mobilize to send emergency supplies and teams to Oklahoma.”   Those wishing to make a contribution to the OKC and Midwest tornado relief efforts can make a secure online contribution by visiting:   www.convoyofhope.org . To place a $10 donation on your cellular bill, text the word CONVOY to 50555.

LOCKWOOD, Mo. -- The National Weather Service confirms a tornado struck the city of Lockwood, Missouri early Monday morning. The EF-0 twister damaged a few businesses and homes in the Dade County community, including the Muncy's Grocery Store.  The tornado also uprooted several trees. The storm cut a path of nearly 100 yards and a mile long.  Wind speeds reached up to 80 mile-per-hour.  The tornado touched down shortly after midnight.  

JOPLIN, Mo. -- Joplin City officials have organized a support team of public safety employees and deployed them to Moore, Oklahoma to arrive later tonight. The team included approximately a dozen members from the police and fire departments. This group will offer assistance and conduct an assessment to determine the areas of support that may be needed as the community of Moore continues their search and rescue efforts and begins the cleanup work in their city. “As we saw the devastation that the tornado caused in their community, we began the preparation to send personnel to assist the city of Moore,” said Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr.

NEAR GOLDEN CITY, Mo--An emergency manager reported a tornado touched down east of Golden City Monday morning.  Survey teams will be out today to see if there's any damage.  Tornado sirens also sounded in Polk County but we don't have a report of a confirmed touchdown. High winds damaged a barn near Aldrich, just north of Stockton Lake.  We're also getting reports of trees and branches knocked down in the same area along with power outages. In Springfield a tree came toppling down onto a car at National and Seminole.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Watch for much of southwest and central Missouri. The counties include, Barry, Barton, Bates, Benton, Cedar, Christian, Dade, Dallas, Greene, Henry, Hickory, Jasper, Laclede, Lawrence, Maries, McDonald, Miller, Morgan, Newton (MO), Phelps, Polk, Pulaski, St. Clair, Stone, Vernon, Webster and Wright.  The Watch lasts through 10 p.m. Monday might.   

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Watch for much of southwest and central Missouri through Monday morning. The counties in Missouri include, Barry, Barton, Bates, Benton, Camden, Carroll, Cedar, Dade, Dallas, Greene, Henry, Hickory, Jasper, Laclede, Lawrence, Maries, McDonald, Miller, Morgan, Newton, Polk, Pulaski, St. Clair, Stone, Vernon, Webster, and Wright.  It is set to expire at 1:00 a.m. Monday....

Jefferson City, Mo. -   Attorney General Chris Koster filed a lawsuit today against a Dana Point, California resident and his construction company alleging that he failed to provide construction materials and home-repair services that had been   paid for by victims of the Joplin tornado. Koster's lawsuit alleges that homeowners paid Clark Baxter and his business, Sustainable Design, Inc., tens of thousands of dollars for the construction materials needed to rebuild their homes.  However, Baxter failed to deliver the construction materials, and stopped working on the victims' homes prior to completion, leaving   consumers to purchase these items elsewhere at additional cost.  “Unfortunately, there are always those who will take advantage of unsuspecting consumers during times of tragedy,” Koster said, “This office will continue to protect consumers by pursuing those who engage in this illegal behavior.