Community Corner

Chamblee Volunteers Help Continuing Effort to Restore Bartow Community After Tornado

Chamblee First United Methodist Church helped out one victim of January's deadly tornado that tore through Adairsville.

The tornado that tore through Adairsville in Bartow County in January has largely left the minds of most Atlanta-area residents even though recovery efforts in that community about an hour northwest of Atlanta continue to this day.

But some Chamblee residents are among those who, apparently, haven't forgetten.

Members of the Chamblee First United Methodist donated furniture to one particular victim of the tornado that caused extensive damage across northwest Georgia and left several dead, according to The Daily Tribune News in Cartersville.

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From the story:

Sharing heartwarming stories of people moving back into their residences, Coomer highlighted Joe Richard’s journey.

“[He is an] 83-year-old Korean War veteran. Joe, when the storm hit, he saw it coming, sitting there in his house,” Coomer said. “And when the storm hit, it just wiped out his house and his family said for two weeks he never closed his eyes. ... So we [started rebuilding his house]. Chamblee United Methodist brought in furniture for the family. We didn’t have all the furniture in but Joe went in and saw the furniture, and his daughter said, ‘Now in a couple of days they’ll have all the furniture in here.’ And Joe said to his daughter, ‘I’m not leaving my house again, and if I leave my house, I won’t live to come back. I’m staying here right now.’ So even though we didn’t have all the furniture, he stayed. He stayed."

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