If your husband is still there, you should know there is a second nasty storm heading that way. My house is in Warr Acres, just east and south of where that one hit. So far, I still have power at home. I tried calling my phone and the answering machine picked up. Also, folks in Edmond are getting hit hard. I know we have some Edmondites here, but right now I can't remember who all they are.

Obviously I'm here in Marietta and not there, but am watching it on the radar and it looks a little wicked there. Nothing here.

I hope and pray you all are safe and that your loved ones are as well.

Keep us all posted.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wunderground Radar

There's now a third tornado warning issued for eastern Canadian and western Oklahoma counties, but it looks like that one may stay farther west. That makes three times so far that the sirens have gone off here at work.
I found out a little while ago that my 14 year-old nephew was ill today and stayed home alone. My sister's house is very near the Chuck E. Cheese that was hit on the NW Expressway. Poor baby was scared to death! Took a while due to all the downed power lines (their power is out, too), but I just heard from another sister that his dad has finally made it home to him.

Hope all our friends here are safe. Also hoping that Dawn gets some rain later, just rain, no tornadoes.

Just like Dawn, I had no rain yet. I don't know, where Jalesa/Kathy lives, besides Edmond. I am between 33rd and 15th, just east of Bryant.

Edmond did get hit. The damage is all west and north of me, and the college. the threat is not over yet, even so, the weatherman says, the rest of the thunderstorm line is not tornadic?

Anyhow, I thought I check in. Right now, it is still rather quiet.

Some of my friends have no electric, cause of downed power lines and poles.

Jerry is still at work. Everyone there had to go to the tornado shelter.

I hope, everyone else is ok too.

Moni

We're looking for lisa h. She may be without power.

Please let us know if you hear from Lisa or Kathy. I know there are others besides Dana, Moni, Debra, Lisa and Kathy in the affected area, but can't remember exactly where everyone is located.

Dawn

A large tornado has hit Lone Grove in Carter County with damage and injuries reported. Many emergency responders from Love County are headed that way. The rest are holding down the fort here as another storm with severe potential approaches Love County.

We're fine here in Marietta so far.

I hope you all are well.

I am praying for everyone's safety.

Oops. Gotta go to the shelter now per our sherriff's office. Threatening weather approaches Marietta and Thackerville from Texas.

Dawn

Lived in NW OKC for 9 years. I know exactly where you are talking about. Holy crap.

WE'RE OK HERE IN MARIETTA: I'm back. After a lovely period of family time spent together by candlelight (to save the flashlights for later) in the tornado shelter, we are back inside. We had to wade through a new, small lake in the back yard to get from the tornado shelter to the house, but we needed the rain, so I was happy to wade through it

We had small hail, heavy rain that dumped more than an inch of rain in a very short time, high wind, thunder and lightning, but no tornadoes came near our house.

ORR AND COURTNEY HIT HARD: The Orr and Courtney areas have some damaged homes, trees, power lines down, etc. after a tornado touched down there and then traveled into Lone Grove in Carter County where it caused severe damage.

LONE GROVE TORNADO: If you are trying to make contact with someone in the Lone Grove area of Carter County, it is my understanding that their power is out, most telephone service is out, the cell phone service is down, structural damage has been reported, gas leaks are reported, debris is making many roads impassable and search, rescue and triage operations are under way. There are additional power outages in the Orr, Courtney, Ardmore and Springer areas. I believe there is one confirmed fatality. It sounds pretty bad in Lone Grove but I am grateful it isn't worse

A Red Cross Shelter has been set up at the Heritage Hall Center in Ardmore, 220 West Broadway.

I hope the rest of you are safe and well and that we hear from you whenever you have computer service again. I have been especially concerned about those of you in the Edmond area.

Dawn

I'm here and okay! thanks for checking on me :) I live south of Edmond, on the north side of OKC.

Moni: Did OC or UCO get hit?

Dawn, I watched anxiously to see if you were getting rain. It looked like you did :)

We got a little bit, but it's too dark to check it out.

I'm glad everyone is okay.

Lisa

Dawn - OKC news on-line says Lone Grove has 3 dead and 50 injured. I have tried to call five phone numbers in my family and none are working. I do have a friend in the hospital right now who has checked everyone in the emergency and none of my family is there. The station said it hit the UPS building which is less than a mile from my sisters house. They are saying it was a half mile wide. I have family all over that area, so I want to know about anything that you learn.

I have gotten word on my family and it appears that they are not injured. My great niece has had word from her mother and brother and although the roads are not passable, someone waked down to check on my sister. The trailer park that was destroyed belonged to the brother of my BIL. The store that was destroyed belonged to my BIL's nephew. At least one house also belonged to his brother, but he was not living in that one. We have not heard for sure if his new house was damaged or destroyed.

All phones and cell phones are down in the area. My nephew's home (and my old home) were missed by one quarter of a mile. My nephew left to go check on his mother. He talked to her but the police won't let he go there, nor would they let him go home, so he is in Ardmore in a motel with his family.

We have heard that there is a major gass leak and that home are being evacuated on one street.

Of course, at this point, everyone is reporting a different story, but we have heard that the hospital is full. I don't know how true that is, but I did have someone there who knows all of my family and he had checked out all of the patients before I could talk to anyone else and had told me that none of them were there.

Thanks for your info and help. Carol

Carol,

You are the main reason that I have posted so much about the Lone Grove tornado--I knew you had family in the Carter County area, but I couldn't remember which part of Carter County.

I will post everything I find out.

I know that earlier this evening, the hospital's emergency room was full so people who had less minor injuries were being diverted to other area hospitals, including Mercy Love County Health Center. We have had Love County firefighers, sheriff's deputies, Marietta city poice, and paramedic crews working in the Lone Grove area all night but they are beginning to return to our county now.

Carol, if there is anyone you still need to find, contact the Ardmore chapter of the Red Cross. They are the ones compiling lists and helping relatives find one another from what I understand.

I'm going to link Channel 12 KXII for you. They haven't updated their website since a little after 9:30 p.m., but they said when they finished their extended 10 p.m. newscast that they would "soon" update the web page. They might not get it updated tonight, but they usually have an update by morning if there's a big nighttime event

The difficulty at the present time is that the streets are simply clogged with debris, trees, power lines, etc. and the search and rescue efforts have been slowed down because the rescue vehicles can't travel down the roadways.

I have heard unconfirmed reports that the death toll is 9, but the media is only reporting 3 or 4 confirmed deaths at this point. I believe many more people than 50 were injured, but many injuries were minor and were treated at the scene and did not require hospital transport. Love County sent at least one ambulance or maybe two to Lone Grove and SOAS was initially dispatching EMS calls on the Love County channel and they sounded busy. I think they were using our channel for SOAS because their channel was out of commission.

This tornado stayed on the ground an extraordinary amount of time, especially for southern OK where the tornadoes tend to be weaker than those seen in central OK. We tracked it from the Ringgold area in Montague County, and then to the Taovayas Bridge across the Red River, through Courtney and Orr and towards Lone Grove. After leaving Long Grove, it headed towards Springer, Gene Autry and Doughtary (sp?) and just seemed to go on and on and on. I do not know if it was on the ground continuously or if lifted up and came down repeatedly.

I'll report more as I know more.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Local Ardmore News

Lisa,

After the last round of storms, I went out in the dark and checked the rain gauge. We have right at 2" here, so I'd be dancing for joy were in not for all the storm-related damage and destruction in southern OK and central OK.

I can't even remember the last time we had 2" of rain in one day.

Carol,

The gas leak was somewhere on Meridian and was one of the reasons first responders had trouble reaching some of the injured--they were not allowed into that area until the gas leak was capped. I understand the Lone Grove school is in that area, the kids were playing basketball against Madill, and the game was stopped and the school evacuated because of the gas leak. The news reported all the kids were fine and that the Madill school buses all returned safety to Madill with their students.

I have heard varying reports of the width of the storm's path--from 1/8 to 1/4 to 1/2 mile, so I guess time will tell.

Dawn

Carol

Here's the latest on the Lone Grove Tornado in the linked Ardmoreite article. Notice the end of the story mentions one subdivision with damage reported. I'd never heard of that subdivision--but maybe you have.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Ardmoreite--Lone Grove Tornado

Dawn - Thanks so much for the update. I suppose tomorrow will bring a new picture also. I have heard 3, 4, and 9, and of course that may not be the end.

The high school is on North Meridian and I lived on South Meridian, with Hiway 70 being the dividing line. UPS sits on the south side of Hiway 70 probably less than a half mile from Meridian. Johnny's Furniture is probably about about a half mile from Meridian and on the opposite side of the road. I am not familiar with a feed store there, but that doesn't mean it isn't there. I haven't been in that area for awhile. The next intersection (one mile to the east of Meridian) is Brock Road. More of the damage appears to have occured there. My sister lives on Brock Road, near the highway, and she has three children that live further north on that same road. The path was between her house and theirs. Someone had to walk down to check on them, because the road was empassable.

My mother is in a nursing home in Ardmore and I am so thankful that she doesn't still live in Lone Grove, because this would have scared her so badly. Of course, I don't know wheather to talk to her about it or not, because they may not tell her. Of course, if they don't, someone in the nursing home will.

My mother has a sister that I have not heard from, but her house was not in the path, so I think we have everyone accounted for, albeit 2nd hand. Thanks for your help.

It sounds like my BIL's family is going to have a lot of property damage. It is just amazing to me that they are all safe, because there are a lot of them living right in that area. They were blessed.

Thank you all for being concerned! We stayed off the computers last night because the room they're both in, they're close to the windows. We're okay here. Got a little hairy for a while though. Kids were locked down in school, my 11 yr old didn't get home until after 5:30. The high school and my 9 yr old's schools both released between storm cells. The 11 yr old rides the bus, and our van is in the shop for brakes again, so we couldn't go and get him. But at least we knew he was safe. I was just fretting because we didn't have them all home.

I live off of Kelly and 2nd on the west side. That tornado ran about 1.5-2 miles from us. Cliff, the dogs and I were in the bathroom and trying to reach family members via cell phones. We'd gathered some of our emergency packs (the most important ones- radio, extra candles, extra flashlight and batteries, dog food, medicine, water, non perishable foods)before the first one came through and the sirens went off. We didn't have time to grab the secondary packs. After the all clear was given, while we were listening to the news, we gathered the rest of the emergency packs (clothes, kids' toys/books, personal care items, etc- the comfort stuff and extra clothes). The schools had not released lockdown yet. After the first one and before the second one, the two schools released lockdown for pickups. My daughter got a ride from her counselor and Cliff ran the 1/2 block to get Devin.

Lights flickered and we all stayed close to the bathroom :)The second storm gave us a somewhat heavy hail pounding for several minutes while Cliff was gone to get Devin. A little while later, after they'd made it back, the rain started sheeting heavily. We never completely lost electricity. The next heavy storm passed well to the west of us. We did get a lot of rain, though.

There was lots of damage from the tornado in the addition it hit here and one man was sucked through the window of his home, but is okay. I haven't been out to check wind damage yet. But the house is intact, we're all unhurt and found out that our emergency plans (revised some from the last time they were needed) worked out well.

Kathy

I am glad, to read from both Lisa and Kathy. I was worried about you.

We had the least of the storms rage. But it is windy now. Raingauge says: 7/8 inch

It is windy here now.

I am glad to hear Carol's family is ok.

Moni

Glad to hear everyone is okay. Let's keep it that way.

my first thought this morning was of Dawn knowing she lives in lone grove. glad to see that others are okay too.

sorry to hear about the damage and lost of lives.

Kathy,

Relieved y'all made it through the storm OK. Hopefully that's the worst weather fright you'll ever have.

Carol,

If you were watching The Weather Channel this morning, you'd see Mike Seidel reporting live from the front of what is left of Johnny's Furniture.

I'm glad you didn't tell me last night that your family lived on Brock Rd. because I knew then that the rescuers couldn't even get down that road and a couple near it.

KXII is still (perhaps erroneously) reporting up to 15 deaths, but the confirmed number is 8. I am so glad your family is OK. It was very bad here last night--and by "here" I mean all of southern OK, but clearly Lone Grove bore the brunt of the storm. I believe this may be the worst tornado to ever hit Carter County and I think it probably was stronger than the one that hit the then-Uniroyal plant in the mid-1990s.

It is very cold and windy here in southern OK today, but most of the puddles have already soaked into the ground. The search and rescue operation resumes in Lone Grove this morning. They are going to search the trailer park again because they really had trouble getting around in it last night due to all the downed power lines.

Dawn

Well, aside from some trash blown about the yard from trashcans, I'm not seeing much in the way of damage. Thankfully our trees were pruned heavily last summer, so no limbs down. Everything looks really good and there's actually standing water, which is much needed. Other areas of Edmond weren't as fortunate. I've been watching the news this morning and there's some major devastation. We're going to call my MIL later to see if there's any wind damage at their place to see if they could use some cleanup help.

Glad everyone seems to be alright, and very thankful for the ones with families in Lone Grove that aside from things, the loved ones are safe :)

Kathy

Good to hear from all of you. News late last night before I went to bed was reporting only one death in Lone Grove, but this morning they are saying 8. I was so hoping we would make it through the day without any fatalities or major injuries.

I talked to my little sister when I got home last night. Based on the damage he saw trying to get home to their son who was home alone sick, my BIL said the tornado got within about 100 yards of their house, but the house was undamaged. They live just north of the NW Expressway and about 1/2 mile east of Rockwell. They did lose power, but it was back on by the time I called her. As far as I can tell, my house never lost power.

Isn't Susanlynne also northside Okc? Has anyone heard from her?

Susan lives south of my office, she should have been okay. Most damage was way west and way north of my office.

Lisa

Thanks, Lisa! I'm sure the butterflies will be grateful Susan is okay. ;)

Lisa,

Thanks for letting us know about Susanlynn.

Debra,

Glad to hear your family members are OK--100 yards is a bit too close for comfort.

LONE GROVE UPDATE:

When I went to sleep in the early hours this morning, the search for additional survivors of the Lone Grove tornado had been called off due to the darkness and the danger posed by the power lines and gas leaks. The media was reporting at least 38 people were still "missing". Carter County Sherriff Ken Grace was reporting 15 fatalities, although he wasn't sure of the numbers.

The search resumed at daybreak. A while ago, searchers found three people trapped under debris and are currently working to rescue those three persons and remove them from the debris. So, that's three more who can go into the "survivor" column. I do not yet know how many names have been removed from the list of "the missing", but the death toll has not gone up, so that's a good thing.

After my husband returns from Lone Grove where he is a part of the search and rescue effort, I'll try to post more info if it is available.

I hope the other areas hit by yesterday's storms are also finding more good news than bad this morning, as we are here in southern OK, where the death toll is officially eight, and that's a lot better than last night's unconfirmed number of 15.

I ought to be out in the garden getting ready to plant onions this weekend, but....guess what....it's too muddy. That's a switch.

Dawn

All OK here.

There was a report of a tornado on the ground on HWY123 that's between Bartlesville and Dewey, and since we're only a block from HWY123, I was pretty concerned for awhile as they didn't say WHERE exactly the tornado was sighted other than "between Bartlesville and Dewey". It was rough getting us ready for shelter as DD is with us after having had gastric bypass surgery and she has a ton of equipment and medicines that would devastate her if we lost. So we dragged it all down and then back up. Plus DGS didn't think we were in any danger and gave me a real hard time about it till he saw pictures of the damage in OKC on the TV we had down there.

We had a lot of rain, wind and pea-sized hail.

Glad everyone's OK, hope all your loved ones are.

I'll post more about the gastric bypass thing in a bit.

--Ilene

Ilene,

I'm glad y'all are OK. I was worried that we weren't hearing from you. Hope the gastric bypass went well and that she recovers quickly.

Carol,

Here's the latest: 30 people are still unaccounted for but the death toll remais at 8.

Chickasaw Telephone Company there in Lone Grove is accepting donations at their office to help storm victims. Also, they've set up a phone line for (a) folks to call and check on the status of their loved ones, and (b) survivors to call and leave word that they are OK. That phone number is 580-657-4300.

The shelter is at Heritage Hall, 220 W. Broadway, Ardmore, OK, and their phone there is 580-223-6313.

I just received a message from DH that they currently are conducting a grid search for survivors (or, God forbid, victims) in the area adjacent to the trailer park, which is just a mass of debris.

Dawn

I am thinking and praying for those hit. We had a big one near here May 10 last year. Didn't hit me thank God. It takes a long time to recover and lots of strength to keep going.

Thanks Dawn

Everyone in my family has now been accounted for and they are all OK, and in fact, don't seem to have much damage. Now for my BIL's family, it is a different story.

I finally found out where the feed store was. It was on Hiway 70 next to the video store and just across the street from UPS. John's Furniture store is just down the hill from there and belong to my BIL's nephew. When I was in high school, and after my Dad died, my mother and I moved to a little house exactly where that store is now. There is a lot of destruction in that area.

From there the path goes NE and crosses Brock road. My BIL's brother built a new home a few years ago just off Brock and it was destroyed. Actually my nephew was the contractor that built the house and I just talked to him. He said his uncle and his wife, hid in a closet, and their grandaughter and her husband hid in the bathroom. Those were the only parts of the house left standing. His uncle was pulled out by the storm and received bruises and a couple of licks to the head but is OK. I think the granddaughter was interviewed today on the Today show, but I didn't see it. They owned a small trailer park also with 6 or 7 trailers which is totally gone and he mentioned another small house that was destroyed there.

We have also heard that it hit a trailer park south of Lone Grove which was not far from where our house was. No one that I have talked to has been allowed to go down south Meridian to see how bad the damage is there. We sold our house about 4 years ago, so all we have there is 20 acres of undeveloped property which is SW of Lone Grove. If it cleared a few trees there, we wouldn't mind.

The official death toll is still at 8 as far as I know, but my nephew said he watched them pick up another one this morning, and I don't think he was part of the original 8, so we will see.

His uncle and family were part of the ones on the missing list last night, but of course, they are now known to be OK.

He said the path is clear-cut and there is little damage outside the path.

I called my mother in Ardmore and she had already heard about the tornado. I didn't mention it, but she said, "Are you calling to tell me about the tornado?" so I think she thought I was calling with bad news. Actually, the news was pretty good for our immediate family members and I feel very blessed.

Another lady that I went to school with hid in a bathtub and was spared when her house was destroyed.

My heart goes out to all of those who have lost loved ones and property losses, but I am grateful for a news and weather system that gave most of them enough warning to take cover. My nephew said he went to the shelter for the first time in 20 years. Welcome to Oklahoma springtime. It is starting early this year. Everyone be careful!!!

Helen, It is good to hear that you are OK. So often, these afternoon/evening thunderstorm lines cross OK into AR and cause trouble. I'm glad y'all didn't get hit by any of them last night.

Carol, I am watching live footage shot from a helicopter above Lone Grove and the destruction is stunning. If you look at the KXII website later, they may have it up in the video section. The ground is bare. No grass. No weeds. No shrubs. Many trees, especially Eastern Red Cedars remain standing. A lot of the taller, older deciduous trees lost tons of limbs, though, even if they are still standing. It looks like someone took a vacuum cleaner and sucked up all the plants out of the ground. All you see is brown soil for as far as you can see as the helicopter's camera pans the area.

I think I saw the granddaughter on the Today Show. She was still emotionally devastated and perhaps a little in shock, speaking of how everything familiar is "just gone".

DH just came in, exhausted after 8 hours of search-and-rescue in heavy firefighter bunker gear. He says the destruction is widespread. The trailer park he searched may be the one you're thinking of--it had about 60 trailers and every single one of them is gone. They did not locate any further survivors or victims there.

DH is not an expert, but thinks it was most likely an F-3 and possibly an F-4. Time will tell.

We did have good warning last night. KXII, the local CBS affiliate, had a storm spotted named Doug Drace on the ground in Lone Grove BEFORE the tornado hit, as it was making its way from Montague County, TX, across the Red River at the Tayovayas (sp?) Bridge at Leon/Courtney, over Courtney and Orr with a brief touchdown perhaps in Orr where two homes were destroyed.

When the tornado was coming down to the ground, Doug Drace was telling us live...it is descending....it is on the ground....Lone Grove take cover now. He did a great job, and anyone listening knew it was serious and knew to seek shelter.

Based on what we were hearing on TV and on the fire radios, I believe most people had 15-20 minutes advance warning to seek shelter. The NWS had issued watches and then warnings in advance of the tornado, the weather radios sounded, the fire and police pagers sounded, the media tracked it and publicized it. If you didn't know it was coming, you just weren't paying attention!

The official death toll remains 8 with 14 seriously injured, and two of them airlifted to Parkland Memorial in Dallas. I believe the two that were airlifted were related to the elderly man who died in his home last night. I don't remember his name, but I have seen footage of his family members searching through the rubble of his home and they seem completely shellshocked and stunned.

Now watching live press conference with Gov. Henry. Here's what they are saying:

Path of tornado through Lone Grove about 4 to 5 miles long and at times up to a half-mile wide. Devastation is "just incredible, it takes your breath away" according to Gov. Henry.

Gov. Henry says only 8 fatalities and only 2 are still on the "missing" list and no one knows if they have left the area or if they are truly missing.

Gov. Henry asked that everyone pray for all those impacted as they have been through a devastating time.

Carol, After seeing the aerial footage, all I can say is that you and your family have been blessed, truly, truly blessed. For you to have had that many family members survive this horrific weather event is truly amazing and a reminder of the Good Lord's grace.

I know Lone Grove faces a long, slow recovery but the support and assistance are pouring in and I am sure this strong community will rebound and will rebuild and will take this opportunity to pull together, love one another and help one another.

It is a beautiful, sunny afternoon here in southern OK and the clean-up has already begun.

I am watching John, the furniture store owner on Fox News live from Lone Grove, and he's holding up very well, considering the devastating loss he has suffered. He's had a lot of volunteers (many of who he does not even know, they said) show up to help him salvage what he can. He is devastated, though, and I saw him wipe away a couple of tears as he spoke. My heart and prayers go out to him and to all affected persons.

Dawn

Ardmore CBS affiliate is reporting that Tuesday's tornado which hit Lone Grove is an EF-4 (166-200 mph wind).

I haven't heard anything yet about the Enhanced Fujita Scale ratings given to the Edmond and Pawnee tornadoes.

DH said that the reason I didn't see any grass, weeds, shrubs in the ground is because they have been uprooted and are hanging in the trees and on the power lines.

Dawn

The NWS has posted preliminary EF Scale ratings for the other tornadoes. I've linked them below.

Here is a link that might be useful: EF Scale Ratings of 3 Tornadoes

I am posting the list of victims of the Lone Grove tornado. Our family knew the lady in the third listing, Molly Sheryl. We all knew her and know her mother very well. It is HORRIBLE. I went to see Bobbi, her mother, the next day and she was just in shock.
Continue to pray for these families.

God was so merciful to us here in NW Ardmore! It skipped right around us and went to the NE of us and did more serious destruction.

Dawn--did your DH work on the search and rescue team? I didn't read everything in these posts.

It was a very spooky night here in Ardmore! But we had no damage other a few things outside blown around and debris hanging in our trees and bushes.

G.M.----see below for victims....so SAD!

Lone Grove torando victims identified
Posted: 10:48 PM Feb 12, 2009
Last Updated: 9:22 AM Feb 13, 2009
Reporter: KXII Staff
Email Address: firstnews@kxii.com


AAP-OK--Capsule summaries of some of the people killed in the Lone Grove tornado:

William Vincent Fambrough, 48, and his wife, Susan "Gail" Fambrough, 54, of Lone Grove.
They lived in a Lone Grove mobile home park with their
13-year-old daughter, Kaylee. All three were at home Tuesday evening when the tornado hit their home, said Kathy Primrose, Vincent Fambrough's sister.

Kaylee, the victims daughter, says the last thing Gail Fambrough did as the tornado bore down was comfort her 13-year-old daughter by taking her hand.

Within moments, the 54-year-old and her youngest daughter were pulled apart as the powerful storm splintered their home. Kaylee says she later found her self in a field not far from the home.

Vincent Fambrough was a longtime automobile mechanic, while Gail
Fambrough was a homemaker.

"I'm still in shock," Primrose said. "It's still hard for me to believe they're dead. They're just wonderful people who were taken too soon."
---
William Wheat, 78, of Lone Grove.

A retired Air Force master sergeant, Wheat went to work for the
Uniroyal tire factory in Ardmore after getting out of the service.
He lived in a brick home in rural Lone Grove with his son, William
"Bill" Wheat Jr., and his daughter-in-law.

The younger Wheat was critically injured when the tornado wiped the home down to the slab, said Wheat's daughter, Rhonda Wheat.

She said her father loved to fish on Lake Texoma for catfish and
collected various types of barbed wire.

"In later years, he enjoyed sitting out and watching birds,"
Rhonda Wheat said. "He had hummingbird feeders all over the
place."
---
Molly Cheryl Hutchinson, 53, of Lone Grove.

Hutchinson worked the graveyard shift for six years at the Sunmart truck stop along Interstate 35 in Springer, where she was well liked by many regular customers, said Natali Sloan, Sunmart manager.

"They're going to have problems at her funeral, because every
trucker that's come through this stop for the last six years is
going to be there," Sloan said. "I'd lay down and bet there's not one bad thing that anyone can say about her."

Hutchinson was still sleeping Tuesday evening before her midnight shift began when the tornado struck the Lone Grove home where she lived with her husband, Emmett, Sloan said.
---
Donna Lee McGarvey, 54, was a native of Rapid City, S.D., who
retired from a pharmaceutical company before moving to Lone Grove.
---
Timothy David Nevill, 36, a carrier with the U.S. Postal Service.
---
Gary Boyd Jr., 39, a truck driver from Jones who was passing through the Lone Grove area when the tornado hit.
---
Trevor Morgan, 30.
---
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

http://www.kxii.com/news/headlines/39537492.html

G.M.,

I am sorry about your friend, and about all the other victims as well. I think everyone is still basically in shock. We don't have many EF-4's here and the amount of destruction makes it seem sort of surreal, doesn't it?

DH did work in search and rescue at Lone Grove and, in fact, called in and took a vacation day from work so he could go to Lone Grove and do volunteer firefighter work. I think all 14 VFDs in Love County sent at least one firetruck with personnel to assist in search and rescue and some sent more than one. The Love County Sheriff's Office sent many officers, the Marietta P.D. sent some as well, and many of our trained EMS responders (first responders, EMTs and Paramedics) went to assist as well. I know at least one of our county's ambulances, and maybe more (we only have three) immediately went to the scene to help transport the wounded, and our hospital implemented its disaster plan and helped treat the "overflow" from Mercy/Ardmoer.

Somewhat ironically, some of the police officers who work for and with my husband at D-FW saw him on the news on the Dallas Fox Channel that night (the day after the tornado hit) and called and said "Hey, we saw Lt. Coyle being interviewed live from Lone Grove". What a small world it is sometimes and they were amazed to see him on the news down there when the incident had occurred up here. They all know he is very involved in public safety work up here, but I think seeing him out there "doing it" make it more real for them.

Were you watching Channel 12 that night? We were, and I was so proud of Steve and Megan, and storm spotter Doug Drace, for their amazing spot-on coverage. I know they saved lives by providing at least a half-hour of warning. When Doug said he was on Hwy 70 and that the tornado, which he described then as very large, was descending towards the ground and headed into Lone Grove, it sent chills up my spine. Between KXII and the weather radio (and I am sure KTEN was covering it also), many people sought shelter and survived. The way that technology is used to save lives just astonishes me.

I was watching KXII, was getting eyewitnesses warnings on the fire/police radio from a Love County deputy in Courtney who saw the funnel cloud too, and was online here at GW posting warnings for Carter County and Lone Grove just in case someone was lurking online but didn't have the TV on.

Thanks for posting info about those lost in this tragic weather event. Sometimes I think we hear about the "number" of people dead and forget that the number we read is made up of real people whose lives on this earth have been cut short and whose family and friends are hurting and grieving.

I'm glad y'all are OK. It was a scarey night here and we spend part of it in the tornado shelter as the Thackerville storm came through but only had hail and high wind and considered ourselves incredibly fortunate.

Dawn