Neighbors lend a hand in Stuttgart

STUTTGART - The sounds of buzzing chain saws drowned out the rumble of a John Deere tractor Tuesday as volunteers worked to remove a giant oak tree from a driveway on South Lowe Street.

Three men in jeans and tan hats, all members of First Baptist Church in Stuttgart, positioned their saws on limbs sprouting from the tree's giant trunk.

Sawdust flew like fireflies.

This was the scene Tuesday in many neighborhoods in southern Stuttgart, the area hardest hit by a Saturday evening tornado that bore down on the city's commercial district.

"It's important to help our neighbors," said Dustin Spears, the church's youth pastor who was clearing limbs with the John Deere. "I don't know who lives in this house [at 1608 S. Lowe St.] but just that we're able to help our neighbors and friends - it's the best thing we can be doing."

The twister destroyed 15 businesses and up to 60 houses in the southern part of the city of 9,260 residents. It damaged up to another 35 businesses and 140 houses, county and state officials said.

About 2,350 customers remained without power Tuesday in Stuttgart, said David Lewis, a spokesman for Entergy Arkansas.

Lewis said employees are working to repair four major circuits by today or Thursday, which would restore power to 1,900 customers. Parts of the city will remain without power until at least Friday, he added.

Sonny Cox, county judge for Arkansas County, said that once power is restored on 22nd Street, businesses, including a Wal-Mart store, can reopen to sell groceries and supplies to residents.

Cox said Tuesday that more than 1,000 people have poured into Stuttgart to volunteer with American Red Cross, Salvation Army and Arkansas Baptist State Convention disaster recovery teams, among other organizations.

Municipal and county workers from other communities, some hit by previous storms and tornadoes, also arrived to help, Cox said.

"They're just begging to come out and help us because they know what we're experiencing," Cox said.

Mark McElroy, county judge of Desha County, who remembers how volunteers poured into his county after a February 2007 tornado that hit Dumas, arrived Tuesday with three county workers, a trackhoe and two dump trucks on Weidner Street.

"Between the county judge and other volunteers, they're cleaning house on Weidner Street," said David Wood, who lives at 1802 Weidner St. "Myself, I used three chain saws trying to remove a stump in my yard."

The Desha County road workers were making good headway until the trackhoe operator accidentally broke a waterline while trying to remove a tree stump, McElroy said. A Stuttgart cityemployee worked to fix the break Tuesday afternoon.

"We're trying to pay people back for when they helped us," McElroy said. "We got more practice than we wanted to cleaning streets and everything in Dumas."

"People have been so nice to us here, bringing us water andfood," McElroy added. "I don't think I'm ever going home."

Gov. Mike Beebe declared Arkansas County an emergency disaster area Monday.

Stuttgart Police Chief Mike Smith said that while most people were in town helping, police sent three work crews from one tree-removal business home after workers tried to mark up prices more than 600 percent.

Residents accused the company of asking $10,000 for debris-removal services worth about $1,500, Smith said.

Arkansas Code 4-88-303 (b-1) says: "It is unlawful for any contractor to sell or offer to sell any repair or reconstruction services or any services used in emergency cleanup for a price of more than 10 percent above the price charged by that person for those services immediately prior to the proclamation of emergency."

Smith said authorities were unable to catch the company making any transactions, so no arrests were made. However, the company failed to get an occupational license at City Hall, which allowed authorities to force the company out of town.

Smith said state police checkpoints preventing residents from going to the hardest-hit areas of the city led to about 10 arrests of people driving while intoxicated.

He said some looting occurred at the Family Dollar store on South Main Street immediately after the tornado, although authorities were unable to catch the suspects. The store was destroyed in the tornado.

Almost 250 volunteers with the Baptist State Convention and First Baptist Church fanned out across the city Tuesday, officials said. Most of them did tree and limb removal work, while others cooked and served chickentenders, green beans, peaches, french toast, grits, eggs and bread to hungry workers and storm victims at First Baptist Church.

Workers with the county Health Department gave out free tetanus shots. One man who enjoys sharpening and repairing chain saws arrived in town Monday night and set up shop at First Baptist Church, said Jerry Hill, a coordinator with the Arkansas Baptist State Convention disaster recovery team.

"You've heard about pastors being called to be pastors?" Hill asked. "It's kind of like we're called to be chain saw, or cleanup people. Those of us who enjoy it are ready at a moment's call."

Men and women in blue, white and yellow hats buzzed around the First Baptist Church grounds Tuesday, some covered in sawdust, others wearing foodservice gloves.

Spears, the youth pastor, said people wearing yellow hats werevolunteers, people wearing blue hats were team leaders and people wearing white hats were coordinators.

A sign in front of the First Baptist Church Activity Center read: "Arkansas Baptist Disaster Relief/Hot Meals 12 p.m. to 6 p.m./Water Distribution/Tree & Limb Work."

By 12:27 p.m., the line to get hot food was about 80 people deep.

Albert Lewis, of Forrest City, was part of Disaster Relief Unit 2, in charge of cooking. The disaster relief unit is coordinated through the American Red Cross, Lewis said.

Another member of the cooking team, David Butler, also of Forrest City, said the crew had cooked 900 meals for lunch Tuesday and would cook 1,100 more by the end of the day.

"It's great we can share with them and let them know we care," Lewis said. "We'll be here as long as they need us."