EVANSVILLE -- A tornado that ripped through rural Evansville in March 2016, destroyed homes and hurt at least two people, but that disaster led to building a new community storm shelter.
"It's something we hope never to use, but it's like a spare tire -- you always have it, but you hope never to have to use it," said Dave Roberts, whose home was destroyed by a tornado in 2016.
History at a Glance
Leaders with Washington County and the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District applied for a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant so the county could construct a Safe Room in the Evansville community in 2017. Bids were put out for the project. Washington County received $29,246 from the federal government and contributed $9,749 for the shelter, for a total of $38,995. A ribbon cutting for the shelter was held Friday.
Source: Staff Report
Roberts is a volunteer firefighter and first responder for the Evansville Volunteer Fire Department.
A cluster of firefighters and county officials, including County Judge Joseph Wood, gathered Friday morning around the metal storm shelter placed next to the 1940s Evansville Community Center on Arkansas 59. The rural southwestern Washington County community is unincorporated.
Community leaders asked Washington County in 2017 to chip in $9,749 so residents could get the $29,246 matching grant. The roughly 240-square-foot shelter was recently installed by Atlas Safe Rooms and exceeds federal guidelines and requirements, said Joshua King, a national sales manager.
The community chose putting the shelter at the center because it's a major gathering place, firefighters said.
The center, once a school and now a Fire Department and community center, holds potluck breakfasts every Friday morning. In the fall, firefighters host an annual meal and raffle a handmade quilt to raise funds.
A room inside is reserved for a group that quilts together regularly. Hundreds of people come to the center, firefighters said. After all, Evansville is a place where residents come together, Roberts said.
Roberts is nearly finished rebuilding his home, thanks to Evansville neighbors who have contributed time and money, he said. Roberts had no home insurance when the tornado pulled off his roof.
Evansville residents, together, pushed for the shelter, firefighters said. Now, the community is among the few to have a shelter in Washington County, said Sharon Lloyd, county grants administrator.
Washington County officials hope this is just the first shelter the county helps small communities get. Lloyd said she plans to reach out to other communities and rural fire departments to see whether they want to do what Evansville has.
"This is a great model," Lloyd said while standing near the Evansville shelter. "If we can save one person, it was well worth it."
Any interested community must have a population of fewer than 3,000 people and have property for a shelter, Lloyd said. About 570 people live in the Evansville area, said Fire Chief Roger Baird.
Lloyd said she plans to ask communities, such as Summers and Cincinnati. The rural, western Washington County area, on the Oklahoma-Arkansas border, was hit by a deadly tornado around midnight New Year's Day 2011. Four people died.
Communities outside of Washington County are looking at shelters since a tornado hit Mountainburg last month, Lloyd said.
Evansville has been hit by about five tornadoes in the past decade, Baird said. A tornado touched down in Oklahoma and ended near Odell and Evansville communities last year. No one was hurt.
Across Washington County, there are only a handful of private storm shelters, said John Luther, director of the county emergency management department. The county hasn't done any other shelters besides the one for Evansville, he said.
Lloyd said she wants that to change soon. Washington County officials are willing to provide the matching money to get the federal grants for the shelters, Lloyd said.
"We are very 'pro' these safe rooms," she said.
Even if communities start now, it's likely to take years to get the shelter, Evansville firefighters said.
Helen Presley, a volunteer firefighter and secretary for the Fire Department, said the community leaders met with county officials and others multiple times over two years to get the shelter. The end result is a safer community, she and others said.
"The big deal is now the community has a measure of safety," Presley said.
NW News on 05/12/2018