Ryan Manso and his wife have only lived in Rolla for two years, and they bought their home just across the street from Ber Juan Park only seven weeks ago.
But since his home was damaged by the tornado that swept through the city on Friday night, Manso has fallen in love with his new town.
“I don’t think I’ve ever felt a greater sense of community than I do here today,” he said. “I woke up this morning and called the dispatch number to get some help, and within 30 minutes there were two trucks here and then a team of volunteers to help clear debris.”
The 10 people in Manso’s yard piling tree limbs onto trailers make up one of the dozens of teams of volunteers the city is sending around town to help homeowners and businesses clean up and start to recover from the tornado.
In addition to local volunteers, the Salvation Army, American Red Cross and Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief all set up mobile command centers and are helping people find shelter and a hot meal. Missouri University of Science and Technology offered services including opening up the Gale Bullman building for showers to anyone without power or water at their homes and having civil engineering students help assess structural damage.
“The community here has been wonderfully supportive,” said John Dungan, a disaster program specialist for the American Red Cross, which is operating a shelter at the First Baptist Church in Rolla. “We each have our niche of what we can do to help those in need and in Rolla we’ve all been working together very well. It’s been amazing.”
Rolla Public Schools canceled classes for the week as it is assessing damage at Mark Twain and Wyman elementary schools as well as the middle school. Other buildings are without power and internet. The district hopes to have a plan in place for students to return to class on March 31, after the scheduled spring break.
With all that time off, some Rolla students started a volunteer effort to help with the cleanup.
“We’re able and we have the time. So why not come out and help?” said Rolla High School student Emma Maurer. “It’s really awesome to see everyone come out and help instead of just sitting at home.”
Local businesses also lent a hand. More than a dozen restaurants offered free meals to first responders, utility workers and volunteers helping out.
Clifford Foster works for Cohen Woodworking, one of several companies that offered employees a paid day off if they wanted to volunteer to help with cleanup efforts.
A half-dozen volunteers worked to get a tree and other debris off a car. Foster said he only briefly met the owner, who couldn’t stay to help because he had to go to work.
“This is my home and everyone is my family here,” Foster said of Rolla. “I’d like to think they would do the same for me if my house got hit on the other side of town.”
Zachary Clark lives across the street from where Foster and the other volunteers were working to free the Kia Soul. He said his street has been a nonstop parade of volunteers since Saturday morning.
“It’s a beautiful thing that people are able to come together and help the community,” Clark said.
Clark’s house is one of about 500 still without power in Rolla.
“These pines trees came down and impaled the roof and took down all of our electrical lines. We were lucky to live through it,” he said.
With the immediate cleanup done at his house and nothing to do but wait for the power to be restored and a roof repair company to get to him, he’s turning his attention to his neighbors.
“I bought a chainsaw so I could help other people,” Clark said.
