Sen. Paul visits Powers Chapel distribution center

U.S. Senator Rand Paul visited Bremen on Jan. 18 to receive an update from local leaders on the recovery efforts after the Dec. 10 tornado. He spoke with Bremen Mayor Allen Miller at Powers Chapel General Baptist Church.

The church is serving as a distribution center for disaster relief. Donated items have been organized and the fellowship hall is set up like a store where tornado survivors can shop for needed items. Wooden shelving, donated by the carpenter’s union in Paducah, line the walls and are filled with food, essential items and toys. Tables are filled with clothing and shoes.

The donation center is open Monday through Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Vivian Stobaugh-Clark is a volunteer coordinator at the site, and told Sen. Paul they have helped more than 200 people since the tornado.

The fellowship hall at Powers Chapel in Bremen is filled with donations. (Leader-News photos/Stacie Barton)

“A lot of what we do here is listen to their stories,” Stobaugh-Clark said. “There’s hardly a day when we don’t cry with someone, pray with someone. We just listen to their stories, they need to talk and tell us,” she said.

“It’s amazing what people are doing, coming together to help,” Sen. Paul said.

Kim and Gary Hendricks, who lost their home on Bethlehem Church Road, retold their story to Sen. Paul, of riding out the tornado in their trailer as it was moved and thrown by the storm. Kim Hendricks showed the senator photos of her home. The whole house was lifted.

“We were close enough to grab each other’s hand,” Kim Hendricks said.

After the tornado struck they were trapped under a collapsed wall and began to call for their 19-year-old grandson, who wasn’t answering their calls. “All of a sudden from the distance we could hear him. He said, ‘Mamaw, Papaw, I’m here and I’m going to save you.’ and he got us.”

Another volunteer there to meet Sen. Paul was Karia Edwards. She has been working to feed volunteers at the Bremen Community Center every day since the tornado hit. They were serving 1,200 meals in the first days after the storm. Now, they are still providing about 100 meals each day for those who are working to remove debris and clear land.

Sen. Rand Paul visited Powers Chapel on Jan. 18. He is seen here with the Miller family, from left to right: Bremen Mayor Allen Miller, Stacy Miller and Lexi Miller. (Leader-News photo/Stacie Barton)

Edwards said the volunteers at the Community Center have come from all over, and food donations have poured in. People from Pennsylvania, Florida, and Colorado have traveled to Bremen to cook for the volunteers.

A restaurant owner in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania is like family now, Edwards said. Ronnie Beeck raised $3,000 to buy meat, and came with a co-worker to help. “He brought a big smoker and stayed here for two weeks and just cooked,” Edwards said.

Sen. Paul said his office would be available to help people through the red tape when dealing with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Stobaugh-Clark said they are available to help at the Powers Chapel fellowship hall, and if there is something someone needs, they can help to find it.