Community recovers from tornado with help of Catholic, other agencies

Published: 2008-05-28

WINDSOR, Colo. (CNS) -- In the aftermath of a May 22 tornado, people in Windsor in northern Colorado are rebuilding their lives and "every day there is tremendous progress," said a local Catholic pastor who, along with many of his parishioners, was among residents displaced by the storm. Father James Spahn, pastor of Our Lady of the Valley Church, told Catholic News Service in a phone interview May 27 that several hundred volunteers have been moving through the devastated areas, going house to house and picking up debris, cleaning and putting down tarps to prevent water from entering through the holes in the roofs. The coming together of the volunteers has been inspiring, the priest said. The tornado that hit Windsor was one mile wide and left a 35-mile-long path of destruction as it moved through northern Colorado. In addition to the tornado, there was major, golf-ball-size hail. Damage from the tornado and hail was estimated at close to $150 million, according to news reports. About 150 homes were destroyed. The power was out in most neighborhoods for several days.

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