Volunteers pour into Winchester, families continue clean up

WINCHESTER, Ind. (WISH) — Volunteers lined up at Winchester Community High School as early as 8 a.m. on Saturday for day two of clean up from a devastating tornado.

Debris and branches piled up, lining the streets after recovery started on Friday.

Homeowners like Angie Martin are now reeling in from the damage.

“I mean, I still feel a little numb,” said Martin.

The Randolph County native has never experienced a natural disaster this severe.

Volunteers helped Martin and her neighbors throughout the morning, bringing coffee and snacks along the way.

“[I] never met them before, you know, coming up and it’s just — it’s been wonderful,” Martin said. “We live in an amazing community.”

One of those volunteers, Bobby Ewing, is a volunteer firefighter in Spiceland. He took the 50-minute drive to help out.

“I don’t know what to say, really,” Ewing said. “It’s mind boggling of what a true disaster looks like.””

Martin was having a night out in Indianapolis when the tornado ripped through town on Thursday.

When she came back, her house was nearly flattened. After some initial clean up all day Friday, her kitchen was the last thing standing Saturday morning.

As clean up continues, Martin looks back on the time spent with her kids while coming to terms with losing their home.

“I’ve never never seen anything like this,” Martin said. “It was really the memories [that we lost]. That was the most important, and I mean, we did find more than what I thought we were gonna do. I mean, there’s stuff that I’ll probably never see again.”

Martin and her daughters are safe and are staying with friends for the time being.

The Community Foundation of Randolph County has compiled a list of items needed for donations.