No place like home

No place like home Tornado victims move into new residences Brian Smith Wed, 02/21/2024 - 7:23 am   Members of Mennonite Disaster Services present a homeowner with a quilt and the keys to their new home during a ceremony Wednesday, Feb. 14. The group worked with several organizations, including the local Long Term Recovery Committee, to build five homes for tornado victims. Photo/Brian Smith It’s been said there’s no place like home. To Bear Fenter, it’s a true statement. Fenter lost his home during the March 2022 tornado. After what must have seemed like a never ending trail to try and get some help, Fenter was handed the keys to his new home Wednesday, Feb. 14 as part of a dedication ceremony. Mennonite Disaster Services worked with the local Long Term Recovery Committee and the North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Committee on Relief on getting five homes built at different areas around the city. Fenter said it was a long trail but well worth it. “We were told it would be another month,” Fenter said. “The house is awesome. Everyone did a good job.” MDS, along with Amish from Iowa and Missouri, spent the last two months working on the homes, delivering a level of craftsmanship not found everywhere. Groups would stay for a week or two and have another group come in and work on something else. Matt Troyer-Miller with MDS said more than 60 homes in Jacksboro were damaged by the EF-3 tornado. He said with the cooperation of a number of local groups, including the city and county, things moved along very rapidly. “You came together not for your own glory but for your friends and neighbors,” Troyer-Miller said. LTRC Chairman Joel Hood said being on the committee has given people a chance to work together and everyone who has been a part of the experience has been blessed. “It was a great life experience,” Hood said. “I’m thankful for having had it as it gave up the opportunity to serve.” County Judge Keith Umphress thanked Hood for “rising to the occasion and prioritizing needs of the community.” Umphress said the tornado exposed weaknesses in the community. “Great things are achieved when we work together,” Umphress said. Many of the workers came to town for the ceremony with the new homeowners following the event.