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| Fort Oglethorpe F/R and US-101 Team Up to Help Tornado Victims FORT OGLETHORPE, GA – Friday, February 8, 2008 – Earlier this week devastating storms and tornados ripped through the southeast creating catastrophic damage, killing over 50 people and injuring hundreds more. One of the more hard hit areas was Pisgah, Alabama where one woman was killed and damage was almost indescribable. The National Weather Service confirmed that an EF-4 tornado with peak winds of 180 miles per hour was on the ground for 10.9 miles through this community. On Friday, WUSY Radio, locally known as US-101 set up at two locations in the Tennessee Valley to accept donations of money as well as household items, food, clothing and many other things to be donated to Pisgah residents. Donations were being accepted at the Bi-Lo Grocery Store on Shallowford Road in Chattanooga and also the Bi-Lo on Battlefield Parkway in Fort Oglethorpe. In Fort Oglethorpe, members of Fort Oglethorpe Fire and Rescue readily answered the call for help. Volunteers from the Fire Department along with on air personalities from the radio station and other community volunteers worked together to accept donations, package the items for shipment and load them into a tractor trailer. All afternoon, fire department personnel sorted the items into boxes and loaded them onto pallets. All of the money donated was to be used to purchase items for families touched by the devastation. The outpouring of support from the community was overwhelming. Afternoon radio show host Dex said he is amazed at the generosity of the people of this area. He said that whenever they are called upon to help they always step up to the plate. Many of the area businesses gave items and financial donations. The largest contributors were Bi-Lo, Lowes, and Home Depot. Representatives from Northwest Georgia Bank stopped by and donated a check for $2,000. By about 6:30 PM, the truck was loaded and ready to go. It was to be driven directly to Pisgah Friday night and off loaded immediately so that those in need could get immediate help. Dex and Big Al, the afternoon show hosts at US-101 complimented the members of the Fire Department over and over saying that they could not have done it without them. For Fort Oglethorpe Fire and Rescue it was another chance to get involved and help the community they serve. |
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