In Greensburg

I’m astounded every time I meet and talk to people in a disaster situation. That’s been true the past two years I’ve taken a class to Greensburg.
From the people who volunteer to help rebuild homes and lives to those who lived through the tornado in May 2007 and are reconstructing their existence, it’s downright amazing. [...]

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A Kiowa County man who does not want to be identified has a frightening story about surviving the Greensburg tornado.
He was in jail in Greensburg on a DUI charge the night the tornado hit. He had been arrested and convicted in Sedgwick County, he says, but arranged a transfer to the Kiowa County Jail to [...]

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John Colclazier is a Greensburg native. He was a longtime volunteer firefighter, county appraiser for 12 years and served recently on the planning commission. He seems to be the kind of guy who works hard, but doesn’t appreciate being told how to do it — or when.
Maybe that explains the roof on one of [...]

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Ozi Utah came back from her work on the Scout cabin rock pile this afternoon with a big smile on her face.
“Guess what I found?” she asked as her smile grew even bigger. She held up a piece of mortar she chipped from one of the stones.
All of us in the fellowship hall at the [...]

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One of the requirements for the Greensburg class is for students to volunteer. Most have concentrated on getting interviews and writing, so the latter part of this week has been filled with work in the community.
They’ve volunteered in different ways. One student painted signs. Another mowed vacant lots with an Oklahoma group also staying at [...]

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Air mattresses and my body apparently aren’t made for each other.
I tried my third air mattress in seven nights last night. It was inflated and fairly comfortable until about 2:30 this morning. Then it felt like I was sleeping on a noisy, deflated innertube.
I think I must be getting the air mattresses from the church’s [...]

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Sometimes, en route to the real story, you run across interesting tidbits about people.
Take Georgia Abrams, for example. She’s an intern with GreenTown in Greensburg and has been attending Indiana State, but is transferring to Kansas State University this fall.
Georgia, who is staying in the basement of the Methodist Church with our group, is back [...]

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Travis Heying of The Eagle works with Molly Walsh and Rebecca Zepick on their stories.
When it comes to providing expert guidance, Wichita media professionals are always more than willing to lend a hand to students.
Four Wichita media professionals — Larry Hatteberg of KAKE, Dr. David Kamerer of Wichita State University (soon to be at Loyola [...]

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Funerals are more common in some western Kansas churches than weddings. That speaks volumes about the plight of small towns and their dwindling populations.
Greensburg United Methodist hosted its first wedding since it was rebuilt after the 2007 tornado. Pastor Terry Mayhew said he has conducted 11 funerals since the arrived in town two years ago. [...]

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I’d never heard of Buster’s, but a couple of friends we met last year in Haviland insisted we needed to visit the saloon in Sun City before we went back to Wichita this year. I had to admit I also hadn’t heard of Sun City. And I’m familiar with a lot of small Kansas towns.
Sun [...]

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