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Volunteers swarm High Point after storm
Norman Jameson, BR Editor
March 30, 2010
3 MIN READ TIME

Volunteers swarm High Point after storm

Volunteers swarm High Point after storm
Norman Jameson, BR Editor
March 30, 2010

BR photo by Norman Jameson

Buddy Bernard of Life Community Church handles the chainsaw while Bill Burch of Rose of Sharon hauls limbs during a cleanup in High Point.

Chain saw and cleanup

teams from as far as Wilmington eased into High Point Monday following two

tornadoes in Davidson County and one in nearby Guilford County that severely

damaged dozens of homes and left hundreds of trees on the ground.

Meteorologists upgraded

the March 28 tornado that hit High Point to F3, with top winds of 139 miles per

hour.

North Carolina Baptist

Men’s disaster relief site coordinator John Gore, from Thomasville, said

Tuesday morning they’ve accepted 40 jobs, with other requests continuing to

arrive at the coordination site at Oak View Baptist Church. Twenty-eight

volunteers showed up Monday. Gore expected 45 volunteers on Tuesday and 60

Wednesday.

Given enough

volunteers, he expected to finish the jobs by the end of the week.

As in any severe storm,

amazing stories of survival and rescue emerge. Gore, a member of Greenwood

Baptist Church, said one mobile home was lifted with the residents inside and

dropped into a carp pond on Sink Lake Road. When the house disintegrated the

family swam out to safety.

Volunteers are being

housed overnight at Green Street Baptist Church. First Baptist Church set up in

the parking lot of Community Bible Church — across the street from a heavily

damaged neighborhood — to serve meals.

BR photo by Norman Jameson

Adam Smith, member of Green Street Baptist Church and director of High Point University’s Campus Crusade for Christ, clears limbs in a yard that lost 25 trees.

Joanna Souza, who lost

25 trees in her back yard, was grateful for the Baptist Men’s work at her

house. “They just worked and worked and worked,” said Souza, who was huddled

during the storm at a neighbor’s house. “They’re phenomenal.”

Souza, a member of

First Methodist Church in High Point, said the Baptist Men’s response will make

her “think twice” the next time her church asks for volunteers, and she will

plan to join them.

Jamie Caulder, getting

ready to pitch in to get a dozen trees out of his yard as three chain saws, a

skid loader and limb draggers were at work, said he felt lucky compared to some

other homes in his neighborhood. He had a hole in his roof, quickly covered

with blue tarp of the kind that colored the rooflines of several High Point

neighborhoods.

Adam Smith, a member of

Green Street Baptist Church and Campus Crusade for Christ director at High

Point University, was lugging limbs with a student and hoped to bring more over

to help during the week.

Volunteer Bill Burch of

Rose of Sharon Baptist Church in Durham lugged limbs and was glad to see the

skid loader arrive. “God called us to go out and help do things,” he said.

“This is one way I can contribute.”

BR photo by Norman Jameson

Site director John Gore, member of Greenwood Baptist Church in Thomasville, visits with homeowner Jamie Caulder while volunteers removed a dozen fallen trees from his yard.