Map of Tornado Damage

It occurred to me that I haven’t seen a map of the local path and damage from the tornado. This is a work in progress and by no means complete. Please let me know your suggestions for additions and any changes. I am going just by incidents on the day of the tornado that I have learned about; I am sure there are a lot more I do not know about, so feel free to point them out to me so I can add them.

Click here for the map: http://www.scribblemaps.com/maps/view/BoOmHdmlWG

I am adding photos of what Anonymous is referring to in the comment below about the building across from Kennedy House. I checked it out today and was able to snap a couple of photos (sorry, it was hard to get even these because of the rain storm and I couldn’t get a shot of the entire building.)

Tornado Cleanup Planned for Today

Re-posting this letter that was forwarded on to me:

An email from Joseph Lara is below. An important Forest Hills cleanup from the tornado is arranged for this Saturday at 2 PM. We are seeking volunteers. Please help, and also forward to as many parties as possible. Thank you!

Hello All,

I’m sending this out to the members of Kiwanis, the heads of some civic organizations in the area, and the religious leaders in our community.  I’d like to make a plea to you all tonight.

Since last Thursday, much of the residential parts of Forest Hills have been in shambles due to the Tornado.  I had the honor of working with the Forest Hills Community Church last weekend, and I have to say it humbled me so much.  For me, this community is not only my home and where I work, but it made me what I am today.  I got my start here and Forest Hills was there for me and has supported my magazines for the last four years.  Now it’s my turn to give back to a town that has given me so much.

To my fellow Kiwanians, as I mentioned at our meeting earlier, this is what being in a civic organization is all about.  Sure, it’s great to have lunch and network, but being part of this club and what we have the power to do in one afternoon, is so much bigger than any of us.  As Kiwanians, we must answer the call when our community needs us, we have no other choice.

To this extent, I am organizing a community cleanup this Saturday, September 25, 2010.  We will be meeting in Station Square around 2 pm, and whether you can donate an hour of your time, or a whole afternoon, anything we can get will be much appreciated.  I am attaching a list below of what we’ll need, besides sheer manpower.  I’ll pick up some jab saws (they look like giant knives with teeth and wood handles, and believe it or not they were our best tool last weekend) at Home Depot before Saturday.

-Saws – Gas powered chain saws, jab saws, reciprocating saws, hacksaws, and bolt cutters.  The wood is pretty soft in the trees around here, so the jab saws and hack saws work great.  If you’re bringing reciprocating saws, make sure you have extra batteries as they run out fast and long blades.  The bolt cutters are also great for popping branches off.

-Carts – If anyone has those rolling carts that we use to do laundry or go grocery shopping, one or two of those can be a great help.  There are many places where it may be too hard to get in with vehicles, so those may be our best bet.  We can also line a small one with a garbage bag and fill it with ice and bottles of water as it gets very dry out there when we’re working.

-Gloves – everybody has to bring work gloves, and if you have, wear some sturdy boots or shoes.  Branches will cut and scrape you all up if you’re working barehanded.  We also ran into some instances last weekend where there are pieces of roofing hidden in the brush with very long nails in them that will not hesitate to go through your foot.

Lastly, I just want to thank everybody again, whether you can help us on Saturday or not, just for taking the time to read this.  I look forward to seeing, hopefully many of you on Saturday.  If you have friends or know people you think may be interested, please forward this on to them.

All my best,

Joseph M. Lara
Owner/Publisher
Forest Hills Celebrity & Entertainment Magazine
Astoria Celebrity & Entertainment Magazine
(908) 310-1659
jmlara@comcast.net