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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – The pictures of the damage from last Friday’s tornado are awful.
I remember the news coverage of the Joplin, Missouri tornado from May 2011. The randomness of it all was remarkable. In some parts of town one side of a street would be completely leveled. The other side of the street was untouched.
It’s a little like that in Ringle. One house has its entire roof torn off. A few hundred yards away, and a neighbor’s house in unscathed. I’m amazed that there was no loss of life. Many people heeded the warnings to get to their basements. My neighborhood, about 5 miles away, has no damage whatsoever. A little water in my basement was receding over the weekend.
And in the three days since the storm, something remarkable is happening. The outpouring of support from our neighbors has been remarkable. The Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin and the United Way of Marathon County have set up a community relief fund. You can make a donation through the link at wsau.com. Cash donations are preferred, cash is easier to handle than material things. People like you have donated $77,000 so far. The Ringle Fire Department has been helping with recovery effort. Donations have been flooding in. And they’ve coordinated with volunteers to help with debris removal. DC Everest Middle School and been sheltering people who’s homes have been damaged. The outpouring of donations has been so great that they aren’t taking any more.
Tornados are rare here. And thank God. What is not rare is the number of people who are willing to step forward to help their neighbors when tragedy strikes. That’s a good quality in all of us that we need to cultivate and grow. If you’ve done something to help, thank you.
Chris Conley
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