Three

The twister descended quickly
on Mena, Arkansas, shortly
after 8 p.m. Thurman
Allen, 79, said his

charitable group, the Order
of the Eastern Star,
had just sat down
for its twice-monthly

meeting at the Masonic
lodge when the last
siren sounded. Before the
19 attendees could take

cover, the tornado peeled
away the roof with
winds so strong that
some women had their

shoes ripped off their
feet. One woman was
killed by falling debris —
her body recovered after

emergency workers cut part
of the roof away.
A different roof collapse
killed a second person.

The body of the third
was found in her
own front yard. At
Mena Middle School one

portable classroom was destroyed
and part of the auditorium's
roof ripped away. Rick
Lanman, who manages the

Mena Airport, said darkness
fell quickly as the
tornado crossed the Oklahoma
border 10 miles away.

"Me and the dog
ran to the bathroom
when we saw it
on the TV," Lanman

said. "It was here
in less than a
minute." Morning showed century-
old pecan trees leaning --

some strung with pink
insulation. Sioux Falls man
has won National Meat-
Cutter of the Year.


#


source: Associated Press, April 10, 2009
Jon Gambrell, reporting