PROCTORVILLE, OH (WOWK)- Residents in Proctorville are still working to pick up the pieces two weeks after severe thunderstorms and powerful wind wrecked many parts of the city.
While Proctorville has come a long way since the storm swept through the city, there were still multiple homes and businesses that sustained visible damage, notably the Proctorville Community Fire Station.
The entire back half of the Proctorville Community Fire Station was destroyed after the storms ripped off the roof and shook the foundation causing it to collapse.
13 News spoke with the Mayor of Proctorville, Bill Elliott, who said that there’s currently no timetable on when the station will be repaired. Mayor Elliott also said that the fire station is in talks with an insurance company, deciding between rebuilding the fallen structure or building an entirely new station.
Mayor Elliott went on to praise the way the community rallied together to begin preliminary repairs following the storm.
“For the most part, our village has really come back together. Within two days I felt that our ship had uprighted itself with the help of residents and the fire department,” said Mayor Elliott.
Todd’s Sporting Goods also suffered severe damage, said store owner Todd Gillispi. He said that the storm passed through quickly but caused devastating damage.
“Well it came through, didn’t last 2-3 minutes, but it did a lot of damage. It took our front porch off and threw it up on the roof. It put several holes in there and caused water leaks. We were down for four days, electric was out and we had to spend a day cleaning up,” said Gillispi.
The roof is nearly repaired, and Todd’s Sporting Goods is back to their regular hours of operation, but Gillispi said it will be at least a few more weeks until they can repair their patio.
Overall, Proctorville is on the right path to restoring what was damaged and lost in the storm. Mayor Elliot said that you wouldn’t believe how far the city has come in the two weeks since the storm passed through and that he thanks God that nobody in his town was injured. One man in the Lawrence County town of Hanging Rock did sustain injuries during the storms.
