Bowling Green – Cincy Link

Kentucky man dies of heart attack during storm cleanup

cincylink — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 18:17:04 +0000

MAYFIELD, Ky. — A Kentucky man suffered a fatal heart attack while cleaning up storm debris at his daughter’s home, authorities said as the death toll edged upward from a recent tornado outbreak across multiple U.S. states.

Services for Terry Martin Jayne, 67, were scheduled Wednesday in his hometown of Russellville. Warren County coroner Kevin Kirby said Jayne suffered the heart attack Saturday and was taken to an emergency room, where he was pronounced dead.

Jayne had been helping to clean up debris at his daughter’s home in Bowling Green, where officials said 14 others were killed by a tornado, including 11 people on one street.

According to his obituary, Jayne had operated a floral shop for 45 years. He is survived by his wife, a son and daughter, three grandchildren and four siblings.

“He was, as he always was, helping someone else,” Jayne’s brother, Bruce Russell-Jayne of Carmel, Indiana, wrote on Facebook. “Rest in Peace my ‘Little Brother.’ We are in shock and can’t believe you are gone.”

Jayne’s death pushed the total of storm-related casualties in five states to 89, including 75 in Kentucky.

The National Weather Service continued to assess the scope of the storm. Eight states recorded at least 41 tornadoes during the severe weather that occurred on Dec. 10 and 11, including 16 in Tennessee and eight in Kentucky.

On Wednesday, the weather service said the tornado that tracked across a wide swath of western Kentucky, from Fulton to Muhlenberg counties, was preliminarily classified as an EF4, with peak estimated winds of 190 mph (305 kph).

The most significant damage occurred in Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri and Kentucky, where President Joe Biden visited on Wednesday to comfort those who suffered grievous losses in the storms.

In Kentucky, Lacedric Richardson and his two daughters stopped by to pick up some necessities at Mayfield High School, where the gymnasium was packed with food, clothes, toiletries and other supplies.

Richardson, 36, said he was scheduled to be at work Friday at the candle factory where eight of his co-workers were killed, but happened to be out sick.

“I feel all kinds of mixed emotions knowing that I could have been there,” he said. “I feel grateful, but then I feel like I could have done more if I’d have been there.”

The candle company announced this week that it will give each employee $1,000 to help with expenses and perform an independent review of its emergency protocols. The state is also investigating the factory deaths.

RELATED: Several Kentucky candle factory employees claim they were threatened with termination if they left ahead of storm
RELATED: Northern Kentucky mom raises thousands to help daughter with Bowling Green recovery efforts

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A tornado killed 7 children on a single KY street

cincylink — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 22:07:06 +0000

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — When a tornado touched down in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in the middle of the night, its violence was centered on one friendly subdivision.

It's a place where everyone waved at one another, and giggling children spent afternoons tooling around on bicycles on the sidewalks.

Fourteen people died in a few blocks. Eleven of them were from a single street, Moss Creek Avenue. Entire families were lost. Among them were seven children, two of whom were infants.

All around the neighborhood amid the ruins is evidence of the kids the neighbors used to watch climb off the school bus — a red wagon on top of a rubble pile, a mangled blue bicycle, a baby doll.

Neighbors who survived are so stricken with grief they struggle to speak of it.

Melinda Allen-Ray told The Associated Press she will never forget the screams from her neighbors in the aftermath of the storms.

"I heard them. It traumatized me. I think about that each night when I go to sleep, when I do sleep," she said.

Ganimete Ademi told the AP that the neighborhood is a diverse community of families from around the world. She herself fled the war in Kosovo in 1999.

"We come from war. This reminds us, it touches the memory of that, where we've been and how we came here," she said. "I turn my memory back to 22 years ago."

At least 88 people in five states were killed in the tornado event late last week. On Tuesday, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said 74 of those fatalities occurred in his state and that more than 100 people are still missing.

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Kentucky community finds hope amidst storm wreckage

cincylink — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 08:47:11 +0000

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Officials in Kentucky say 64 people died in the wake of severe weather late last week. According to the Warren County coroner, 12 of those fatalities occurred in the Bowling Green area.

Along with the loss of life, more than 500 homes and dozens of businesses were left in ruins. But among the stories of devastation are tales of triumph and survival.

"It's devastating, really. I know a lot of people here and just wanna help as much as possible," Brittany Edwards said.

There's no shortage of goodwill around the city. Nearby, hundreds of volunteers packed up supplies at South Warren High School, preparing to move them to a different shelter.

"I wish there was more that I could do, but I can't really imagine. But as a community we all gotta come together and stick together, so that's why we're here doing what we can," Edwards said.

Homes on Robin Avenue sustained heavy damage, including the house where Muang Oo lives. In the aftermath of the storm, the 22-year-old rushed into the street in the dead of night, running toward the screams he could hear from his neighbor's home.

"I just heard yelling, screaming, so I went outside to check and then they were just yelling Bob's name," Oo said.

The tornado took most of Bob's house, leaving him bloody and confused inside what was left.

"It's kinda hard because it's either get in there, get him out, or think about him losing his life in there when all this fell," Oo said. "Just gotta do what you gotta do, I guess."

With the help of another neighbor, Oo got to Bob and took him out while debris was falling around them. The neighbors, who barely knew each other before, are now inextricably linked.

This story was originally published by Mike Valente on Scripps station WLEX in Lexington, Kentucky.

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Biden signs Kentucky emergency declaration after deadly tornadoes

cincylink — Sat, 11 Dec 2021 23:17:12 +0000

Biden signs federal emergency declaration for Kentucky in wake of deadly tornado outbreak