Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Craigs Move Into New House Sunday

Everyone in Nevada County affected by the March 1 tornado has been in the rebuilding process since then.

For Stacy and Tim Craig, who literally had their house blown away, it took three months for them to rebuild.

In fact, Stacy said they moved into their new home Sunday, June 1, exactly three months after losing their other house.

Reconstruction began on the Craig home two weeks after the tornado went through. Carpet, she said, was laid during the weekend of May 31 and June 1, with them moving in all the while.

Still upbeat after losing everything, Craig said she was unable to sleep the night of Sunday, June 1 because of the excitement.

"We're tickled pink," she said. "We've moved everything around, and have everything the way we think we want it."

Craig said they also have an order in for a storm shelter -- just in case another tornado comes through their area again.

The new house, she said, was built on the old slab, but is larger than the original structure. While their other home had wall paneling, this one has sheetrock walls.

Because of this, she said, they aren't going to put as much on them. This will be done to keep from having too many nail holes showing.

So, while the Craig's won't be putting up a lot of home interior-type decorations, they will hang the pictures friends have given them.

"This house is bigger," she said, "and feels more secure. I hope this one anchors itself. We're glad to be back up there (on their original site) and are on cloud nine right now."

While the Craig's are in a new home, the family of Tim Ashbrook is still in the rebuilding process.

Ashbrook said they are shooting for late-August to move into their new home.

When the tornado came through, it completely destroyed the Ashbrook's house, ripping trees from the ground and snapping others in half.

"The blessings," he said, "have outnumbered the problems. Everything's coming along."

He said all the work is being contracted to local people that can be.

At this point, Cary, who was in a pickup overturned by the storm, is now in Augusta, Maine doing survey work.

Kelli, who recently graduated from Prescott High School, will be going to camp as one of the newest members of the Ouachita Baptist University Tiger Cheerleaders.

Ashbrook said she was disappointed the house wouldn't be ready until she heads to Arkadelphia and won't be around for the moving in.

Still, he said, they are building their new home on the same slab as the original house, with the structure to be the same size as the old one.

"We were able to settle with the insurance company," he said on getting the rebuilding started. "Our next objective is to remove stumps and clean the yard. We'll be planting some new trees.

"We all feel blessed," Ashbrook continued. "It could have been bad."

Though the Ashbrook home was completely demolished, the home of Helen and William Mullins, right next door, didn't sustain the same kind of damage.

Part of the roof from the Ashbrook home was slammed into the Mullins house by the high winds.

Lawn furniture and some fencing was also destroyed on the Mullins property.

Today, though, the Mullins home looks much like it did before the storm hit.

Helen said everything is going great and all damage has been repaired.

"We have a good insurance company," she said. "Everything has been taken care of."

Still, though, there are some trees on the Mullins property which have to be removed.

She said it took a couple of months to get the damage repaired because the contractors were busy working on other homes affected by the twisters.

"It was horrible," she said of the storm. "I never want to go through it again. I was never afraid of storms before, but I respect them now and find myself a little afraid."

While three families have pretty much overcome their battle with the tornado, the family of Steve and Lynn Cox are still fighting the battle.

The Coxes owned Southwest Arkansas Bait and Tackle, a cricket farm near the Emmet exit on Interstate 30. Their business was completely destroyed by the tornado, with the mobile home they lived in being uninhabitable in the wake of the twister.

Interestingly, their son's, Brian, fishing license was recently found outside of Arkadelphia and returned.

But, the family is currently living in what was their garage. Lynn Cox said they will be adding a couple of rooms on the front of the garage and moving in as son as they can get it ready.

Once they get their living quarters settled, she said, they will begin organizing everything else.

All the family dogs have found their way back home, but a boat taken by the storm has yet to show up.

She said some of the tin from the cricket farm was found near Gum Springs.

At this time, Steve is disking up the yard, seeing what may have been buried so unwanted items can be picked up and thrown away.

She said when he's finished disking the yard, they'll plant peas.

In the meantime, she said, they were able to repair their well, only to have it break down again. They also fixed their sewer system, which broke once their mobile home was moved.

The Cox family is working to put metal on the open end of the garage, currently covered by plastic. "We're doing everything little by little," she said, "as the money comes in from the insurance."

When asked, she said they haven't decided what they will do about the cricket farm. However, if they do get back in the business it won't be on the same scale as it was.

The tornado also destroyed the home of Robert Godwin.

Mrs. Godwin said they have purchased a new home and are trying to sell the land their old one was on.

The Godwins won't be rebuilding the home ravaged by the twister, but are considering rebuilding a barn it demolished.