text size: A | A | A
Tears Of Joy, Grief Mingle In Picher
   posted 12:34 pm Tue May 13, 2008 - Picher
   reporter: Burt Mummolo      posted by: Kevin King
NewsChannel 8 - Tears Of Joy, Grief Mingle In Picher
  NewsChannel 8 - Share Tears Of Joy, Grief Mingle In Picher  NewsChannel 8 - Print Tears Of Joy, Grief Mingle In Picher  NewsChannel 8 - Email Tears Of Joy, Grief Mingle In Picher  NewsChannel 8 - RSS Feeds  NewsChannel 8 - Send Tears Of Joy, Grief Mingle In Picher via Instant Messager
NewsChannel 8 - Share This Article
Stay on top of breaking news! Sign up for NewsChannel 8 e-mail alerts.
Your Email:  

There is an emotional see-saw taking place in Picher right now, from the tears of joy of surviving Saturday's tornado to the torment of what was lost.

From above, it's a jaw-dropping view -- Picher, what's left of it, from atop a chat pile. The destruction is so widespread and the images are numbing from afar. It's the teddy bear, the skateboard, the quilt that make the chaos mean something.

"He was here?"
"He was right here. All this stuff fell on top of him..."

Larry Bowling's 76-year-old dad barely got a scratch. But, the roof of his home was blown off and his pickup truck blasted 100 yards away. Wood from what used to be his home was splintered and scattered up and into the hillside.

"It's a miracle he even came out of this," Bowling says.

But, for every ounce of joy, there is an equal amount of torment.

One of Shari Cody's aunts barely survived.

"She's got both arms are broke, both legs, an ankle, her back is broke, she's missing a foot and has a ruptured spleen," Cody says.

Shari's other aunt died protecting her mother. Grandma, whose home is now a concrete slab, is also in the hospital. They waited as long as they could before breaking the news.

"They told her today because she remembered her being there and remembered her laying on top of her. So, the doctor told her they'd better tell her because she knew something was up because she wasn't there."

This community is already extremely tight-knit because of its small size. Now, what's left of it is literally intertwined. We spoke with a 75-year-old woman whose home was destroyed. She was able to find some family photographs ten blocks away.

Thinking About A Little Plastic Surgery? Ask The Experts!
You need to be a registered member of
NewsChannel 8 to leave comments on news stories.
Not a member yet? Click Here to sign up.
Username or Email Address
Password
Please leave your comments below:
Messages that harass, abuse or threaten other members; have obscene or otherwise objectionable content; have spam, commercial or advertising content or inappropriate links may be removed and may result in the loss of your posting privileges. Please do not post any private information unless you want it to be available publicly. Never assume that you are completely anonymous and cannot be identified by your posts.


TM & © KTUL, LLC
Please read our Privacy Policy. By using this site, you accept our Terms of Service.
Children's Television | EEO Reports | KTUL-TV adheres to the ICRA RATING SYSTEM

Pages throughout the NewsChannel 8 website feature links to other sites, some of which are operated by companies unrelated to NewsChannel 8.
NewsChannel 8 has no control over the content or availability of any linked site.

Legal Notices. "KTUL, LLC.", recognizes the privacy interests of visitors to this site on the Internet.

Satellite Home Viewer Act Information | KTUL EEO Reports CLICK HERE
{ts '2008-06-12 10:05:18'}