In Greensburg

On assignment this morning in Greensburg, we stopped by the Big Well for some additional photos. As we went inside the gift shop, we noticed the door jam was splintered. Then we saw that the door had been pried open.

Burglars, likely some kids, said gift shop manager Stacey Barnes, took only the money in the donation jar. Probably about $30, she said. Thankfully, added Barnes, they didn’t bother the nearby cash register or mess with any of the gift shop items or promotional material.

Later in the morning, while doublechecking with Matt Deighton, volunteer coordinator with the South Central Kansas Tornado Recovery Organization, about the number of deaths in the Greensburg tornado, he corrected me when I said there had been 13 victims.

Make that 14, he said somberly. Roberta Schmidt died over the weekend, he said. According to Deighton, she had been hopitalized since the tornado. Schmidt died June 1 at the Life Care Center in Wichita. Her husband Arnie also was hurt in the deadly storm, but recovered.

Services for Schmidt, 80, will be Thursday morning at the Haviland United Methodist Church, since the Methodist Church in Greensburg hasn’t been rebuilt. Survivors include her husband, two sons and a daughter.

Roberta Schmidt, 14th victim of Greensburg tornado.