It has been two years since an EF-3 tornado touched down in Beauregard Parish and moved into Vernon and Rapides.
The EF-3 tornado left a path of destruction as it traveled 63 miles across Central Louisiana. With wind speeds of over 150 miles per hour, it was at its strongest as it moved into Alexandria near Highway 28 West.
Hope Baptist Church and School was destroyed by the tornado. Since then, Hope Baptist has rebuilt its school, but is still rebuilding the church. Hope Baptist Pastor Rusty Thrift recalls the day the tornado touched down.
“If I didn’t know where I was, I wouldn’t have recognized it,” said Thrift. “It literally looked like bombs and missiles exploded all over the property.”
Students returned to the school this past September. Thrift said the students were happy to be back.
“The first day back here it was kind of like relief to get back to normal and not wonder where we’re going to be from year to year, or if we’re going to have to move buildings. For the most part, they seem glad to just be back,” said Thrift.
Construction of the new church should be completed near the end of January.
Garden Path Stone Center was another local business that was destroyed by the tornado. Jason Leatherman of the Garden Path Stone Center said the company has since rebuilt and says the business has been doing well. He conducted his interview with his two-year-old son Sam, who was born just two days before the tornado hit. Leatherman credits the community for the help in the process.
“We had friends, customers, people we knew from the community in droves to help us,” said Leatherman. “It was really a testament to the goodness in each person that they came out and helped us without any thought of any reward from it.”
Leatherman also said he feels for the victims and those affected by the recent tornado tragedy in the Midwest, especially those in Kentucky.
“It makes me want to cry because I can feel exactly how they did,” said Leatherman. “It’s heartbreaking because I know exactly where they are right now.”
The Johnny Downs Sports Complex is another local landmark that was decimated by the tornado. The extensive damage caused the complex to sit for over a year before the city council voted to approve a nearly seven million dollar renovation project to turn Johnny Downs into an elite ballpark facility. Half of the renovation finished this summer, and Johhny Downs was able to host the Dixie League World Series, where 28 teams from 11 different states came to compete.
Dr. Keith “Skip” Fox is the state’s Dixie Girls Softball Director and said the tournament was a success.
“I thank God for the Mayor and D’argent who worked really hard to have half of the ballpark ready for us to have our World Series this past Summer. It was a good thing for the kids and a good thing for the community to actually be playing ball out there again,” said Dr. Fox.
The renovations to the Johnny Downs Sports Complex are not yet finished but are expected to be completed near the end of January.
https://www.kalb.com/2021/12/17/2-year-anniversary-ef-3-tornado-that-tore-through-cenla/