In Greensburg

Craig Stramel is a volunteer at heart.
The spring 2008 Fort Hays State University grad is in Greensburg again this week, assisting and also learning from Matt Deighton, volunteer coordinator for the South-Central Kansas Tornado Recovery Organization. Craig met Matt on earlier trips to volunteer in Greensburg.
Craig, 23, just finished his student teaching in Long Island, [...]

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Matt Deighton, a Greensburg native and volunteer coordinator for the South-Central Kansas Tornado Recovery Organization, was talking this afternoon about how humor can be helpful when dealing with stressful situations.
As he talked, the storm sirens went off in Greensburg. Everyone’s expression abruptly changed.
“That’s not funny,” he said. “I think they’re training a new dispatcher. [...]

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Front row, from left, Jelena Petrovic, Dana Dinkel, Annie Cook, Nicole Hess, Ashley Arnold, Roni Ayalla, Candice Tullis. Back row, from left, Cort Anderson, Quinn Addis, Ashley Stone, Ian Crane, Todd Vogts, Patrick Vera, Matt Heilman, Andrea Molinari, Les Anderson. Not pictured — Kristin Mehler.
Our caravan of cars arrived at the Friends Church in Haviland [...]

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Arlene Dunn, a good friend from Valley Center who now lives with husband Gail at Asbury Park in Newton, called after she heard I was taking a class to Greensburg next week. She wanted me to know that was her hometown.
Arlene graduated from GHS in 1938. No doubt she and her classmates would have been [...]

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Friday night’s severe weather across the state made me a little antsy as my class prepares to go to Greensburg on Tuesday.
A Colorado couple was killed when their car was hit by a tornado as they traveled on U.S. 54 between Cunningham and Pratt. The tornado apparently picked up their vehicle and carried it [...]

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My students and I leave Tuesday morning for Greensburg and the start of a two-week class.
We’ll be staying in the Friends Church in Haviland, 10 miles east of Greensburg. The church has hosted hundreds — maybe thousands — of volunteers since the tornado struck the area May 4 a year ago.
Our goal is [...]

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