Towns Facing ‘Painful Reality’ In The Aftermath Of Tornadoes, Congregations Vow To Rebuild

The storms that lashed parts of North Carolina and Georgia with killer tornadoes left some congregations without churches for Sunday services.

“The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away,” said the Rev. Paul Sisk, whose West Side Baptist Church was destroyed by Friday’s twister. “I don’t know why, but I don’t even question why.”

The twister destroyed Sisk’s church and the Mayodan United Methodist Church. Members of both congregations pledged to rebuild and come back even stronger.

“In the midst of this, there’s not just the death of the building, but there’s the resurrection of our congregation,” said the Rev. Doug Miller of United Methodist.

Residents said two smaller tornadoes swept across Mayodan and apparently converged over the Mayo River, producing one tornado that gathered strength as it swept toward Stoneville, less than five miles away.

“It turned the sky greenish-brown. It was the most peculiar thing I’ve ever seen,” said Sims Cromwell, owner of a business between the two towns.

Friday’s tornado killed two people in Stoneville, leaving much of the business district in ruins and closed to visitors because of potential structural problems. Duke Power said about 1,500 customers in the area remained without power Sunday.

Tornadoes also struck rural northeastern Georgia, killing 11 people there.

James Lee Witt, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, toured the devastation Sunday as the federal government added Rockingham County in North Carolina and Hall and White counties in Georgia to the list eligible for assistance.

“It’s been hard, it’s been tough, but I think from what we’re hearing, help is on the way,” White County Commission Chairman Roger London said as he stood in front of rubble that used to be classrooms at North Hall High School in Gainesville, Ga.

Funeral services were held for two of the Georgia victims.

“The most painful part of it is just now setting in,” London said. “Today, reality is starting to really hit these folks.”