Towns hope to get back to business
Dumas recovery a sign all is not lost in state's tornado-hit districts
This article was published February 19, 2008 at 6:00 a.m.
Web Extra:
For towns like Atkins, Ash Flat, Clinton, Gassville, Highland and Mountain View - where many businesses continue to reel after a pair of Feb. 5 tornadoes - hope abounds for an eventual return to normalcy.
Just ask Dumas Mayor Marion Gill.
Almost a year ago, an EF-3 twister leveled about 80 percent of his city's "highway business district." It gutted a Fred's Discount Store and caused $19 million in damage at feed maker Arkat Nutrition Inc. A Mad Butcher supermarket, Butch's Steak & Seafood and a Days Inn were among 34 other businesses damaged or destroyed - putting up to 800 people out of work.
Most are back on the job now. With the Feb. 24 anniversary of the tornado less than a week away, Dumas is approaching full recovery - or as close as the city of 5,000 can get.
For more information see today's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Subscribers can read the story here on ArkansasOnline.
