KIRKSVILLE — Gov. Steve Beshear on Tuesday visited homes along the path of destruction left by the EF3-intensity tornado that swept across Madison County on Friday.
He promised the state would assist residents with recovery, even if the state does not qualify for federal disaster assistance.
State and local officials are assessing the amount of damage to determine if the state qualifies for federal assistance, said Carl Richards, director of the county’s emergency management agency.
Richards, along with Madison Judge/Executive Kent Clark, state Sen. Ed Worley, D-Richmond, Rep. Lonnie Napier, D-Richmond, and Rep. Lonnie Napier, R-Lancaster, accompanied Beshear on the tour.
They visited the site near the intersection of Lancaster and Moran Mill roads where two people perished when the mobile home they were in was blown into a pond.
Glenda Charbonnel, 42, and Shawn Michael Yarber, 35, died in the storm, but Madison County Emergency Medical Service personnel who happened to witness the tornado rushed to the scene and were able to prevent Katrina McKee and a child who had been in the home from drowning in the pond.
Beshear listened to survivors tell their stories, including Ronnie Tussey, whose hilltop home near the intersection of Moran Mill and Kirksville roads was demolished by the storm.
Tussey and his wife heard warning sirens about one minute before the tornado smashed into their home.
His wife Margie got to the basement, but Tussey told the governor he managed only to hit the floor by the basement door when the storm struck.
Judge/Executive Kent Clark said the National Weather Service told him the storm did not develop into a tornado until it crossed Nina Ridge near the Madison-Garrard county line.
If the tornado had struck the more populace areas of Richmond or Berea, the loss of life would have been much greater, Clark told the governor.
In the more than 150 rural homes damaged, many families were not home when the storm came through shortly before 5:30 p.m.
The storm ripped off the upper stories of many homes.
“You can see those upper stories were mostly bedrooms,” Clark told the governor. “Lots of people could have been asleep in those bedrooms if the storm had hit after midnight.”
When the storm approached, Jennifer Baker said she was in the kitchen of her mother’s Adams Place home preparing to take her son to the carnival at nearby Kirksville Elementary School, where he is a fifth grader.
“We had planned to be there at 5:30 p.m. when the carnival started,” she said. “I took a peek outside, saw how hard it was raining and told my son we’d have to wait.”
Then she heard windows breaking and saw plumes of drywall dust blow up from other homes in the subdivision.
“My son and I ran to the basement,” she said. “We were worried about my mother and brother who were in another section of the house, but everyone in the house was OK.”
A vacant house across the street belonging to Dr. Michael Bakarich lost most of its upper story.
Bakarich, with his wife and six children, moved to Georgia in July.
“I got a call Friday evening from a friend here in Richmond, who asked if I was sitting down,” Bakarich said. “When I asked why, he said, ‘Your house is gone.’”
Bakarich and his wife came back to Richmond on Monday to inspect the damage.
As workers repaired neighboring houses, Bakarich said he was undecided about what to do until he heard from his Pennsylvania-based insurance company.
Beshear told him employees of the state department of insurance would be visiting the county to help with insurance issues.
“The insurance commissioner has already been here this morning,” Bakarich told the governor. “When I told her we hadn’t heard from the insurance company, she said, ‘After I call them, I think you’ll hear from them.’”
On the department’s Web site — insurance.ky.gov/kentucky — claimants are advised to allow three days for a response after notifying an insurer. After three days have passed, claimants should call 1-800-595-6053.
Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 624-6622.
Local News
Related Photos
-
Gov. Steve Beshear talks Tuesday with Jennifer Baker about the destruction left by an EF3-intensity tornado in Adams Place subdivision near Kirksville. Baker was at her mother’s house in the subdivision when the storm approached.
Governor inspects storm damage, promises help
- Local News
-
-
Berry kept wheels going round and round for 45 years
Madison County Schools had 29 employees retire this year, some after careers spanning several decades.
While several retirees have more than 30 years of service, only bus driver Louda Berry can boast a tenure of 45 years. -
Chemical weapons destruction plant is halfway to completion
The chemical weapons destruction plant being built at the Blue Grass Army Depot is more than 51 percent complete, project officials said Monday.
-
Local student’s ‘Big Brother’ recognized
Eleven-year old Levi Gaskins describes his “Big Brother,” Keith Slaughter, as someone who inspires him in and out of the classroom.
“I was really struggling in science and because of Keith, I got the science award,” Levi wrote in an essay about his Big Brother.
Slaughter was honored as “Big Brother of the Year” during the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Bluegrass Volunteer Appreciation Dinner in April. -
Meth lab is found in Richmond motel room
A Saturday morning traffic stop lead to police discovering an alleged meth lab inside a Richmond motel room.
-
Guilty plea entered in school bus incident
A Richmond man charged with first-degree wanton endangerment after he allegedly passed a school bus and narrowly missed a 5-year-old child, avoided trial Monday by pleading guilty in Madison Circuit Court.
-
Tuesday ceremony to honor state’s fallen law officers
On March 4, 1950, Perry County Deputy Jerry Stamper was shot and killed as he and another duty attempted to serve an arrest warrant. -
City adds third truck for large refuse pickup
The city of Richmond has stepped up it efforts to collect items of large refuse being left on curbs along city streets by adding a truck and crew, interim City Manager Jimmy Howard said.
This past week, Howard said he has assigned a driver and two seasonal workers to the extra truck that will patrol the city’s main streets twice daily. -
History comes alive at Civil War site on Kentucky River
No real shots were fired Saturday during Living History Day at the Civil War Fort at Boonesborough, but there was plenty of sound and smoke as area youngsters learned firsthand about the life of a soldier during the Civil War. -
Whooping cough elsewhere but not here in 2012
Although the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department recently reported two cases of whooping cough, with seven more suspected, Madison County health officials have seen no cases this year.
"We know that the trend is for numbers to be up nationwide," said Judy Collins, regional epidemiologist with the health department here. "Our numbers are remaining level. We're not seeing anything out of the ordinary." -
Union City Day
Billy Wall, James Miller and Lyne Thompson of Stoney Run perform bluegrass and gospel music Saturday at Union City Day.
- More Local News Headlines
-
US Airways: Diverted Flight Has 'Landed Safely'
A Few Odd Business Sparks but Europe Gloomy
Revived Focus on Regulation After JPMorgan Loss
Gerard Butler: the Good, the Bad and the Cannes
At Least 25 Dead in India Train Collision
Raw Video: Private Rocket Blasts Off
Boy to Rescuers: 'Do You Have a Plan?'
Doctors and Devotees Debate Barefoot Running
Blacks Seek to Find Their Own Missing
Houston Museum Unveils $85 Million Dinosaur Hall
Chicago Police: 90 Arrested in NATO Protests
Ex-Rutgers Student Gets 30 Days in Webcam Case
Obama Sees Inspiration in Joplin Graduates
Raw Video: Man Saved After Niagara Falls Plunge
NATO: Afghan Exit 'Irreversible'
Catholic Groups Sue Over Contraception Mandate
4 Arrested After Man's Beating at Dodger Stadium
Investors Slap Facebook 11 Percent Lower
Raw Video: Dramatic 270-Foot Waterfall Rescue
Fingers Do the Fighting at Wrestling Tourney
