To date, we've shared bits and pieces of the after-effects of the tornado touchdown last Thursday night (March 14). This bulletin will highlight the massive well-planned efforts of hundreds of POA staffers, numerous government agencies, utility companies, and so many volunteer organizations.

In the words of GM Kelly Hale, the tornado was 3-4 times worse than the one that hit the Village in the early 2000's. It moved like a yo-yo, bouncing up and down.... hitting some homes, bouncing over others, and then dropping down to hit more homes, taking out trees and power lines in its wake.

To follow the daily steps of the emergency response team and see exactly what neighborhoods and streets have been affected, Click Here. You will see the "official" daily updates as well as aerial graphics of the damaged areas.

Ken Unger, Director of Public Services, describes the "big picture" and the next steps....

Over the last several days the POA and associated volunteers have been aggressively working to open all roads to the homes of residents trapped by Thursday night’s tornado. Since that time, Saline County has issued a disaster proclamation for the Village. We expect Garland County to do the same early this week. These proclamations opened the Village to emergency support from the counties for the efforts that have been ongoing. The next step is what happens at the state and federal level. Our GM has been aggressively pursuing our state and federal representatives to identify what, if any, aid we may qualify for based on the severity of the damage....... Click Here to read Ken's complete assessment of the situation going forward. 

There have been some questions about our gates and people entering the Village since last Thursday night. Yes, the POA has had to leave the unmanned gates open during the day so that power crews can go around our perimeter and into the Village as they work to restore power to the more than 1,000 homes that were without.

As of tomorrow, Monday, there will be POA staff at each gate to monitor and verify the many contractors and volunteers that will be coming and going.

Going forward, we ask for the continued cooperation of Village residents in refraining from calling the POA or HSVPD asking for status updates or asking other nonessential questions. The people that can best answer many of these questions are the same people who have been working many hours without sleep to help the residents who need that help! Let's leave them alone to do the job they're doing!