FAFO Friday: The Weather

How you can help tornado victims in Reno County

By now there’s been widespread coverage of the storm system that spawned high winds and tornadoes last weekend. One of those, now rated an EF3 tornado, struck the Reno County town of Plevna.

It also directly struck the home of Julian and Christina Stropes and their 3-year-old daughter. The home was destroyed, but the family left their storm shelter unharmed.

Christina is the daughter of Catherine and John Green. Julian is the son of Jo Stropes. I’ve known these folks for a long time, and they are wonderful people. The sort of people who go out of their way to help others, and who put in the time and effort to make our community better. They are among the most tender and compassionate people I know, who live their faith everyday in their care for others.

I also worked with John for a number of years at the Hutchinson New, and I have a great amount of respect for him. In fact, speaking of the news, I remember when we wrote about the “Cobb” house that Christina and Julian lived in. If I remember correctly, it was built by a former Reno County Sheriff’s detective, and it was an incredibly interesting and unique home. That uniqueness, however, also made it uninsurable, as most companies won’t insure anything that is outside the norm in construction.

I’m posting this today in hopes that you’ll join me in supporting these tornado victims in whatever way you can. Some can help financially, others with their labor, and some with donated goods.

Here’s the Reno County United Way’s VOAD page (Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster). You can make a financial contribution, learn what goods can be donated to the Salvation Army, and other information about how to help.

There’s also a fundraiser for Christina and Julian to help them deal with the cost of displacement, and eventually to rebuild. I will throw a little money to the cause, and I hope if you can spare a little you might consider doing the same.

Shortly after the storm, Catherine posted what I think is one of the most poignant statements about what matters in this life. Easy to lose sight of sometimes, but tragedy borne by nature, often brings it back into focus.

“Our daughter Christina and her husband Julian and small dear daughter survived a Kansas tornado , about midnight Sunday night. Kept alive in their below-ground root cellar. The tornado even took away some earth off the top of that shelter, just above their heads. Lots of noise and ear popping, But they are alive to tell the tale and we are so grateful for that. The material things about wiped out, but everything that really matters was safe in that little shelter.”