Saturday, June 07, 2008



This week, our county lost a local landmark....and a lot more. The tiny town of Moscow, in the southwest corner of our county, was nearly decimated by a tornado. We had terrible storms Tuesday night, June 3, and were even evacuated out of the County Courthouse, where we were rehearsing for our play. When I got home, one of my friends, who is a volunteer firefighter and EMT called and told me that he was on his way to this town, and that it's historic 1888 double-span covered bridge was gone. This was a beautiful old bridge, lovingly restored over recent years, and celebrated each year by a Covered Bridge Festival. This festival was a large source of income for this little town, and now the future of this festival, the bridge, and the town, are in question. For the first day or so, the town was cut off by downed trees covering every road in and out of town, not to mention the bridge crossing the Flatrock River being gone. Now they are busing in volunteers to help with clearing debris. The Lt. Governor and our Congressman have toured the area, and it has been declared a disaster area. A good friend of mine, along with her daughter, watched her home being blown away above her as they searched for cover in the basement of their farmhouse. They lost all their belongings, their horses, all but one of their goats, and all other animals except their cat. They are battered and bruised, but alive. They are not alone. Several other families have lost everything. One woman was badly injured, but thankfully, no one was killed. When looking at the devastation, it is amazing that no one was.

Donations are being accepted to help those who have lost so much to rebuild, to recover something of their lives. You may donate to the Moscow Victims Assistance Fund at any Wells Fargo Bank in the United States. Please give if you can.

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