It has been a full week since the devastating tornadoes hit Central Massachusetts costing millions of dollars in damages and 4 lives. Three separate tornadoes cut a swath ½ to ¾ mile wide for almost 40 miles, beginning in West Springfield and ending just outside of Oxford. This a satellite map that shows the path of the tornado through these communities. Seeing the brown streak through the forested area, shows just how much destruction to the landscape that there was.
(click to embiggen...)
A 46 year old woman was arrested in Monson this week after posing as a tornado victim and getting food, clothing and a freezer. She was not a victim of the storm, coming from a town some 15 miles away. I can only think of 3 possible scenarios in this situation, none of which is palatable to me. First is that she was desperately in need of items. In this case it would be sad that she had to do this to feed or clothe her family. Secondly, she did it on a lark, to see if she could, to see if she could get a “share” of the donations. This is just too sad to imagine, that she would take from those who are in such need. Finally, that she is a disturbed person who truly thought she was a victim and needed the support or was in need of the support one feels when helped by others. This too is very sad, to think that there are people out there who are so unbalanced or mentally ill as to be in this sort of position. In any case, this person needs more help then we can imagine.
The town of Monson has confirmed that there have been three instances of looting in the town. In two of the cases described by residents of this small, close knit community, it was reported that people, who were not familiar to the observers, simply walked onto other peoples property, started going through the rubble and took items that belonged to the home owners. This included some jewelry. Pardon my vulgarity, but what a sick bunch of fuckers! At this dark hour, in a community that has been devastated by a storm of this magnitude, to travel from some other place and take items? For what purpose? Souvenirs? To sell on Ebay? Get your own tornado rubble? You have to be one cold hearted, insensitive, possible borderline personality individual, to do something like this.
The place where I work, is less than a mile from the town of Monson and has done quite a lot for the community in the hours and days since the storm. This has included being a collection center for clothes and food, a distribution center for these things to tornado victims, providing a place for people to shower and get laundry done, and provide office space for insurance adjusters, FEMA and MEMA officials and places to prepare and submit paperwork that will go a long way toward helping the community rebuild. They even provided a shuttle service from the town to the laundry and shower facilities. The clothing and food is being sorted and distributed on a voluntary basis by people who work at the facility. You know, I have had my issues with this palace sometimes but this response has been way above and beyond the norm. The Facility Director and management staff should be proud of their efforts and concerns.
No comments:
Post a Comment