Challenger

January 3, 2000 was a very devastating day for a lot of people. The F3 tornado that tore through most of Owensboro happened 5 years ago. Today, many people still remember that horrifying day.

A number of Apollo students and their families remember that day as if it were yesterday. Emily Hatcher, a senior at Apollo, witnessed it first hand. "A lot of the houses in my neighborhood were destroyed, but I was safely in my bathroom when it hit. My house didn't have a lot of damage to it, but it was kinda scary," explains Emily who lives in the neighborhood beside Apollo. She also says, "It was kinda funny because afterwards I looked outside and my car didn't even have a dent in it, but the houses around me were demolished beyond repair." That seems weird to many people, but tornadoes choose some crooked, unexplained paths.

Paul Palmer, a junior at Apollo, also witnessed the wrath of the tornado. "It stole my dumpster, and my dad watched it, which made me mad because I was distraught and worrried inside my bathroom!"Paul's not alone, many other people lost a lot of other things from dumpsters to trampolines to roofs and more. Senior Matt Johnson lost his fence, several shingles, and his electricity. "It went over my house, too!"

Sophomore Kaite Pickens remembers that day as if it were yesterday. "It happened when I was at school, I lost my roof, fence, and we're still missing our shutters to this day!" Katie replies about that day.

Fortunately, nobody was seriously injured, and nobody was killed. With all the help from other counties and communities, many other people have been able to repair and replace the things that they have lost.

To most people, this experience changed everything. Apollo shut down for a little while to repair the damage that was done. Several people walked around as if they were in a daze. There were numberous people homeless for weeks. Thank goodness to the kind people at Red Cross who set up refuge at the Sports Center. There were cots set up, and food for everyone who lost their home.

After the weeks and weeks of clean-up, the community of Owensboro stuck together to help each other out. Now 5 years later, homes are rebuilt, and families are much happier. This tornado came unexpectedly, but people handled it as well as they could.

The pride of the community has shown a good job to those who lost a lot of thier things, but gained a whole more. "This experience will never be forgotten by anyone who witnessed it, but hopefully it won't ever happen again!" States Paul Palmer. "But if it happens again, hopefully we'll be more prepared!"