VILONIA -- President Barack Obama visited this tornado-ravaged city Wednesday, promising residents that they won't be alone as they rebuild their homes and businesses.
INTERACTIVE
The president met privately with the families of some of the victims of the EF4 tornado that demolished hundreds of homes and businesses and killed 16 people in the state. He also surveyed damaged areas in Mayflower from the air and walked among demolished homes in a hard-hit neighborhood of Vilonia.
Standing beside a concrete slab where a house once stood, Obama said he was inspired by the rescue workers and volunteers he met as he toured the damage.
"Folks here are tough. They look out for one another," the president said.
He mentioned a 16-year-old girl who was such a determined volunteer that state troopers started taking orders from her. Another man told the president that residents in Vilonia "just say a prayer and then get to work."
"The people of Vilonia and all the other towns devastated by the storm understand there's a lot of work that remains to be done. But I'm here to remind them that they're not doing this work alone, that your country is going to be here for you," Obama said.
During his brief remarks, the president said federal aid would continue to flow to damaged communities where residents were still working to clean up after the April 27 storm.
The tornado was the second to hit Vilonia since 2011 when an EF2 twister killed 5 people and damaged numerous homes and businesses.
The National Weather Service in North Little Rock has said that the latest tornado -- which had wind speeds of up to 200 mph at times -- was the deadliest in Arkansas since the May 15, 1968, twister that killed 35 people in Tuckerman and Jonesboro.
So far, more than $1.3 million in individual federal disaster assistance has been allocated to residents affected by the April 27 storms in Arkansas. As of Wednesday, 950 residents in Faulkner County had signed up for assistance.
In the days after the storm, the Federal Emergency Management Agency issued disaster declarations for Faulkner, Pulaski and White counties for tornado damage and Randolph County for heavy flooding. And on Wednesday, the Vilonia Fire Department received a grant for more than $37,000 from the Department of Homeland Security.
The president's brief stop Wednesday was his first presidential trip to Arkansas. From here he headed to California for a series of political fundraisers and other events.
The visit was just days after FEMA Director Craig Fugate and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson made separate trips to the damaged areas.
During his 3 1/2-hour visit to the state, the president surveyed tornado damage in Mayflower from the air, and in Vilonia, he stopped to talk with a man and his two sons whose home was damaged.
Obama was joined by Gov. Mike Beebe, U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor and U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin, who flew with the president in his helicopter and walked with him during his tour of the damage.
The president arrived at Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville shortly after noon.
A small crowd gathered on the tarmac at the air base to watch the president as he stepped off Air Force One and onto Marine One for the tour of the tornado damage. Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola was among those who greeted him.
The president surveyed damage from the air for less than half an hour, then his helicopter landed shortly after 1 p.m. in a field behind the Vilonia schools.
In Vilonia, more than 100 people gathered along roadsides and in parking lots hoping to catch a glimpse of him. Some carried signs from Obama's 2008 and 2012 campaigns. Most held up cellphones, snapping photos as the president's motorcade passed by them.
For about an hour at Vilonia City Hall, the president visited with first responders, volunteers and family members of the storm's victims.
"Obviously there were some very emotional moments," Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said. "The governor was very impressed with how composed they were given all they have been through since the tornado struck. And they seemed very grateful for the attention from the president."
Faulkner County Sheriff Andy Shock was among about 50 first responders and public officials who met the president.
Shock, a large man, said Obama thanked him for his service and jokingly asked him if he was a football tackle.
"He spent most of his time with the families," Shock said. "That's where in my opinion he needed to spend some time."
A Republican, Shock echoed several other local officials who said they put politics aside and appreciated the Democratic president's visit.
Vilonia Police Chief Brad McNew said Obama offered the first responders "some words of encouragement" to boost their spirits and "reaffirmed that they're going to be here to help us."
"I think he makes us realize we're not alone," McNew said of the president.
McNew's two sons tagged along with him but didn't meet the president. They were more interested in seeing the trained snipers outside, he said.
Vilonia Fire Chief Keith Hillman said he was impressed with the president's "easygoing" nature.
"Him being here means a lot to the community as a whole," Hillman said. "Politics aside, I think everybody respects the office regardless of whether they're Republican or Democrat or whether they like him or not. It was a good thing. It probably is the biggest thing that will ever happen to our town."
Faulkner County Judge Allen Dodson said he was glad that the president got to see the "24.16 miles of tornado destruction" in his county.
"The message has been sent that we're going to have the resources we need," said Dodson, adding: "He's done a flyover, so he understands the enormity of it."
Griffin, a Republican whose 2nd Congressional District includes Faulkner County, said the president's visit "shines a light on the devastation these storms brought."
"That could only help move the federal process and the federal assistance forward," Griffin said. "It also helps communicate to the charities ... that this is a big deal, this is a national priority."
Amanda Irby, emergency department director and a nurse at Conway Regional Medical Center, also met the president. Irby, who worked from about 8:30 p.m. the day of the tornado until 6 or 6:30 a.m. the next day, said the president noticed her name tag.
"'Oh, Amanda from Conway Regional. I know about Conway Regional,'" Irby recalled the president saying.
"He had read about us or heard about us during the previous week. He knew our story that we were a fairly small hospital that had a large influx of people who were injured," she said.
Lori Ross, the hospital's spokesman, said the hospital was "very grateful to Sen. Pryor," who facilitated Irby getting to meet the president.
After the president met with rescuers and the families of storm victims, he traveled about a mile to the remains of the Parkwood Meadows subdivision.
Before the tornado, there were more than 50 homes in the subdivision. On Wednesday, only parts of six were still standing.
As he walked along the street with Vilonia Mayor James Firestone, Obama stopped to speak with Jeff Smith and Daniel Cunningham, two men in work clothes standing beside heavy machinery.
"How are you all doing?," the president asked the men as he shook their hands. The president talked quietly with the men for a few minutes and could be heard asking one of them if any of their family members were still at the hospital.
"My wife and my son," one of the men replied.
The president moved on down the street where he spoke with tornado victims Daniel Smith and his two young boys, Garrison and Gabriel.
As the president walked up to them, Smith spoke up: "Man, it's good to see you, sir."
The president could be heard asking Smith: "Where were you when all this happened?"
Smith said he was in a newly built shelter at Vilonia High School, where about 300 people rode out the storm.
As the president talked, one of the boys played with a white toy car in his hands. The other leaned against Smith, and looked up at the president as he asked where the family had lived.
Smith gestured down the street where some homes still had walls standing. "You guys are one of those that kind of stayed up," the president said.
Later Obama posed for a photo with Smith and the boys.
Before leaving the demolished neighborhood, Obama said he would be working with Beebe, Griffin and Pryor to come up with a way to help Vilonia with one of the mayor's concerns -- the loss of the city's sales-tax base because of the storm.
Obama said the federal government will do what it can to help the residents in Vilonia, a city he said had inspired him with its resilience.
"It's a reminder that as important as possessions are, nothing's more important than family," the president said.
"I could not be more proud of everybody that's participated in this recovery," he added.
Information for this article was contributed by John Worthen of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
A section on 05/08/2014