Second person dies as tornado devastates tiny Naplate
Henry Horne was delivering newspapers Tuesday afternoon in Naplate when an alert came on the radio about a possible tornado a few miles to the east, near Marseilles.
Then a friend called him: “'You know about the tornado,' and I'm like, 'Yeah, yeah,'” said Horne, 46.
Horne stopped at home to bag newspapers. It had started to rain, so he resumed the route by car - until he drove down an alley and saw a wall of clouds indicating another tornado.
“There it was, coming straight toward me.”
Horne ran and pounded hard on the door of a customer's home. The wind picked up, slamming the screen door back against the house as the resident let Horne inside. They huddled in the foyer as the storm hit.
Later, Horne discovered his car windshield had been blown out and a piece of lumber had impaled the customer's car, parked next to his.
“I missed being killed by one second,” Horne marveled on Wednesday.
No one in Naplate died, but two men in Ottawa, just to the east, were killed. Wayne Tuntland, 76, and David A. Johnson, 31, were working in the backyard when a tree fell on them, according to The Times, the Ottawa newspaper Horne delivers. Johnson was pronounced dead late Wednesday afternoon.
At least 14 people were injured during the storm in the Ottawa area, according to St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Ottawa.
Multiple tornadoes were reported on the ground shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday, ABC 7 Chicago reported. The National Weather Service looked to confirm reports of as many as seven tornadoes in the state.
In Naplate, about a quarter of the roughly 200 homes were damaged, Fire Chief John Nevins said.
On Wednesday, people were picking up debris and checking in on one another as tree-trimming crews and electrical workers cleared streets and worked to restore power. Spray-painted orange Xs marked houses that had been searched for victims.
Insurance adjusters were arriving and representatives of the Peoria Diocese were assessing St. Mary Catholic Church in Naplate, where glass doors had been blown in and the roof appeared to be damaged.
Gerald Stevens, 50, a lifelong Ottawa-area resident, was surveying the destruction near his apartment in Naplate. He was home Tuesday when the landlord came by and said he was going to unlock the storm cellar doors and that “we better get in the basement.” The town's tornado sirens sounded. Stevens and his dog, Max, went downstairs.
“You could feel it going over the top,” he said of the tornado. “You could feel the pressure.”
Stevens' building had minor damage, with gutters ripped off. Nearby, an uprooted tree was in a swimming pool. A nearby glass factory had roof and window damage. Electrical poles leaned on houses.
An Ottawa church became a hub for those who needed a meal or quiet support. The effort began Tuesday night after Ottawa resident Heather Francis lost power at her house. She drove to her church, Open Table United Church of Christ, to recharge her phone. Others started showing up, too.
“What can we do tomorrow?” they asked themselves.
Instead of holding their normal Ash Wednesday religious service, they decided to cook.
They posted on Facebook they would be making meals for those affected by the tornado. They sent sack lunches to Naplate on Wednesday and at least 300 hot dinners of comfort food such as macaroni and cheese and sloppy Joes on Wednesday night, with more on hand to serve in the Open Table church hall. Organizers hustled around Ottawa, getting food and takeout containers from places such as Krogers, Wendys and the Community Food Basket charity pantry.
ComEd donated trays of pastries from a canceled meeting. A church in DeKalb donated food left over from a Mardi Gras celebration. People who aren't members of the small congregation showed up to help.
“Lots of people helped prepare meals,” Francis said.
That included Horne, a church member who helped peel potatoes. “It made me really happy we are delivering food down there,” Horne said.
Near his home on the south side of Ottawa, Steven Johnson, 36, was trying to collect photos, his 6-year-old's art projects and similar items lying around the area. A neighbor joined in.
“Where's the memory box?” she called, referring to a plastic bin where Johnson was placing the mementos.
When Johnson heard about the approaching tornado Tuesday, he called his wife, Ashley, 34, and told her to “get underneath the steps,” a relatively safe place in their house with no basement. She took their two children and did so, getting hit in the back with debris as they sought shelter.
Their home, which they rent, is uninhabitable. They are staying with his family while they figure out what's next.
Johnson found his U.S. flag and stuck it in the ground in the backyard. In a nearby demolished house, clothes hung on hangers in a closet, even though the roof was gone and walls collapsed, exposing a pink-painted bedroom.
“It's like a bomb went off,” Johnson said.
How to help tornado survivors
NewsTribune.com reports that money is preferred over labor or in-kind support. Money is being accepted by the Starved Rock Country Community Foundation at
http://srccf.org/donate/disaster-relief-fund/.Or you can mail to the foundation at 718 Columbus St., Ottawa, IL 61350In-person donations may also be made at the First National Bank of Ottawa, 701 LaSalle St., Ottawa, IL 61350. Make checks payable to SRCCF.As of noon Wednesday, all non-cash donations were being accepted by the Ottawa Township High School on East Main Street.Updates will be published on the foundation's website as they become available.