Governor marks anniversary of tornado

Gov. Robert Bentley offers condolences to Omar Mojica, 13, and his father, Gilberto, at the Phil Campbell Memorial Park on Thursday. Omar's mother, Claudia, and his eight-year-old brother, Edgar, were killed in the April 27, 2011, tornado.

PHIL CAMPBELL – Gov. Robert Bentley toured the tornado-ravaged parts of Franklin County shortly after the violent winds destroyed a good portion of Phil Campbell and East Franklin on April 27, 2011, and almost exactly a year later, Bentley returned to Franklin County to see the progress being made in the area.

On Thursday morning, Bentley and Sen. Roger Bedford toured the East Franklin community where they saw the memorial monument that was dedicated last Sunday to the five East Franklin residents who lost their lives to the tornado.

Bentley then traveled to Phil Campbell where he first stopped to see Phil Campbell Church of God’s new worship building and then the memorial park, which will be officially dedicated today.

“I’m really pleased with all the progress being made here,” Bentley told Phil Campbell Church of God Pastor Chris Burns. “These people have done a great job and things sure look different than when I was here a year ago and you were having your service on that concrete slab.”

Church member Wendy Newell has only lived in Phil Campbell a little over a year when she moved to the area to be closer to her future husband, Shannon Newell.

Newell was living here on April 27 when the tornado came through and demolished her future church along with many other homes, businesses and lives.

The new home Newell moved to in Phil Campbell only suffered minor damage, but in a strange turn of events, the home she had just moved out of in Lawrence County had been completely destroyed.

“It was just by the grace of God that we were in Phil Campbell and not at our old home in Lawrence County,” Newell said. “The closet and hallway where we would have sought shelter had two-by-fours all through it and we either would have been severely hurt or we would have been gone.”

Newell said the weeks and months following the tornado were difficult for her and her future husband.

“Shannon’s always lived here so this was very personal for him,” Newell said. “He grew up with some of the people who were killed and it was just hard on us all.”

But over the past year, Newell said she and her family have seen so much good come from so many people, and she is proud of the progress her town and her church have made.

“The community really came together to pick up the pieces and so many things have grown out of the ashes that were left behind,” she said.

Renewed faith for the Newell and her family is just one of the positive things that she said she has been able to take from this whole experience.

“This tornado got Shannon back in church and rededicated to the Lord,” she said. “We’ve gotten married and our family has become stronger. We’ve also become part of this wonderful church family who just embraced us even though they were trying to rebuild, too.

Newell said it was exciting to have the governor in their town and observing just how far she and her fellow church members have come in a year’s time.

“This really feels like a celebration of what’s been accomplished through God’s work,” Newell said. “It’s all just been a work of the Lord.”

Bentley said the progress made in the town of Phil Campbell and in other parts of the state could only be attributed to the quality of people in Alabama.

“I well remember the first time I came here after the tornadoes and how devastated it was,” Bentley said. “I am on my fourth day of touring the state and everywhere I’ve been, people have made tremendous progress. I am just very impressed.

“FEMA said long-term recovery takes about five to 10 years, but I said Alabama won’t take that long because of the people here in this state. Their work ethic is unparalleled.”

Bedford added that FEMA representatives said Alabama had responded to this disaster better than any other natural disaster. He also said Bentley is to be commended for the constant support he has offered to the area for tornado recovery.

“Gov. Bentley was here immediately after the tornadoes and he had his cabinet up here seeing how they could help,” Bedford said. “He has been 100 percent responsive.”

Bentley said even with all the progress that has been made this year, the state still has a ways to go.

“Right now we are still involved in the long-term recovery process, but we’ll keep moving forward,” Bentley said. “There are things we need to work on in Northwest Alabama like the highway systems and getting more industry.

“We will work with the local representatives like Roger and Johnny Mack Morrow to make that happen.”

Bedford agreed more industry and more job opportunities would be crucial with many people trying to rebuild their lives.

“We have an advantage of having a governor who is from Northwest Alabama,” Bedford said. “He understands the area needs jobs and that it is important to the recovery process.

“He also stepped in and made a commitment to rebuilding Phil Campbell and Hackleburg high schools, which is also important to each community.”

Bentley said he never could have done all the work it takes to recover from something of this magnitude on his own.

“Recovery like this has to take place at the local level and go from the bottom to the top instead of the top down,” he said. “The first responders, the mayors, the city officials, county commissioners and representatives have all done their job and worked together well. Even though the state was in charge of the recovery, the support from the local communities was crucial to rebuilding.”