5 days ago
Sweetwater community continues to rally together with cleanup day after EF-0 tornado
SWEETWATER, Tenn. (WATE) — Just over a week ago, an EF-0 tornado that swept through Sweetwater within the blink of an eye. On Saturday, a 'Community Cleanup Day' brought together dozens of volunteers working to help a visible difference in the recovery effort.
On Holt Road, major cleanup efforts are finally underway. Craig and Callie Brackett, who own a large piece of property that was damaged, are also active members of the Loudon County Fire Rescue Squad. So, when the call for help came, their fellow first responders showed up in full force.
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'They're very helpful to the department, they're very helpful to the community. They're just great people, and when we saw that this is one of our own, then we needed to rally together and come out and help,' said Michael Hodge the Assistant Chief for Loudon County Fire Rescue.
And it wasn't just the rescue squad that showed up, family, friends, neighbors, and even complete strangers came out to help with the cleanup. From cutting down trees to picking up insulation and other debris everyone shared a common goal – to help residents return to normal life.
'Well, it's always encouraging to see family and friends and just maybe people who aren't friends that just wanted to come out to volunteer. Thankful to have all this help out here today and glad I could be here to do it. Good health is a blessing of God, and there's a lot of people working really hard this morning,' said volunteer Brett Ward who is also a family friend of Craig and Callie.
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While there still more work to be done in the coming weeks, even months, volunteers say they are ready to step up again whenever they are needed.
'It did do a lot more damage than most people know. There's a good community outpouring here. The volunteer state…. I mean, that's what we're known for volunteering, and you can see it out here, just when people need somebody they come in and help and Craig and Callie Brackett are the prime example of that.' added Hodge.
This is just the beginning of a long cleanup journey for the residents on Holt Road. Brackett projects it to take many months but shares he is grateful for the help from the community.
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