For most people in Washington the tornado that ripped through the west side of the community last November is just a memory. For a handful of others though it is still an ongoing problem that is slowly but surely being resolved.
Washington officials say there were a handful of private homes in the Sycamore Street corridor that were damaged by the storm that lacked insurance and are still in line for repairs. Those homes have been targeted by the Daviess County Long Term Recovery Committee.
"I know it has been a while," said Long Term Recovery Coordinator Sherry Davis. "We just tell the families we are working as hard as we can to get it done. They have to understand that since the labor on this is all volunteer we are working on the volunteer's schedule and not on our own."
The first groups from the United Methodist Church (UMCOR) came into the area late last month. The eight volunteers from Madison, Patoka and Loogootee worked on and managed to repair two of the houses that were waiting for work.
"Our next project may be a little more difficult," said Davis. "This one will require some roofing work and a lot of the volunteer groups don't do roofs. A lot of them are older and it is difficult for them to do roofing work."
Daviess County has reached out to the area Amish community in hopes of possibly getting a crew in to do the roofing work. "We put out some inquiries in that area and a man has agreed to meet with our construction manager next week," said Davis. "Hopefully we can work something out and get this project moving again."
The repairs have been turned into an exercise in both patience and flexibility. A plan to bring in crews and put them up at Camp Illiana did not work out as the project moved out into the summer. Instead the LTR purchased cots and worked with Harvest Ministries to provide the workers with shelter and meals. "We have had to flexible with everything," said Davis. "Harvest Ministries has both kitchen and shower space so they have been very helpful. We have had some of the area churches step up and offer meals for the volunteers."Organizers say the next crew expected into the area will be coming from the Lafayette area next month. "These people are volunteers," said Davis. "Some are retired, others take their vacation to come do this. Some of them are skilled, but most are not professional laborers. We do have a construction manager who oversees their work and tries to make certain it is done right."
The Long Term Recovery organizers are also looking at other options to try and get the work done. "We have made contact with Scott Shipman at Helping His Hands Ministries in Vincennes," said Davis. "We are going to talk with them some more and maybe they can get a crew over here in August. We have had other groups contact us about coming in sometime in October."
There are still at least four houses that need work. When they will be finished is still a guessing game. "I would love to have it all done by the end of summer," said Davis. "I'm just not very confident it will happen by then. I feel for the families that we have not been able to get the work completed sooner. I want to thank them for being patient."
Organizers are convinced that eventually that patience will pay off. "These volunteers are great to work with," said Davis. "It is good they are coming. We just want to get it finished sooner."