More Than 200 Volunteers Help Clean-Up Vinton

Nadia Crow, Reporter

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By Belinda Yeung

Story Created: Jul 16, 2011 at 12:57 PM CDT

Story Updated: Jul 16, 2011 at 7:24 PM CDT

VINTON, Iowa - About 250 volunteers spent Saturday cleaning-up a storm damaged Vinton. Members of local Jehovah’s Witness chapters across Eastern Iowa came to help congregation members damaged on Monday’s storms.

”Starting Monday morning many people couldn’t even get out of their houses. Many people had to go out windows. Once they go out they couldn’t even find roads to drive on,” said volunteer coordinator Jason Cox.

Monday’s storm split or uprooted 75% of trees in Vinton knocking down power lines and damaging homes like this one; the house of a family away on vacation.

“It would be a mess to come home and find this. So we’re trying to help them so when they come home there won’t be so much to do,” said volunteer Seth Miller.

Much of the city is still recovering.

“It doesn’t even look like the same town anymore. It’s been truly remarkable,” said Cox.

The Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses of Vinton organized more than 200 volunteers to help the more than 44 families from the congregation damaged by the storm. The volunteers stem from all areas of Iowa, including Seth Miller from Cedar Falls.

“We’ve just been little by little going at it, we’ve made really good progress,” said Miller.

And they’ve had to get their hands dirty in the process.

“Cutting, hauling to the dump, just trying to keep everything safe here,” said Miller.

Volunteer Coordinator Jason Cox says these Jehovah’s Witnesses are not only helping their own, but other members of the community as well.

“They’re out here every day to go to other homes to help and giving up their time and livelihoods for the week, taking vacation time, businesses destroyed and yet they’re still here,” said Cox.

50 to 100 volunteers with the church have helped clean-up each day since the storm with the largest efforts Saturday. Many of these volunteers have made stops in Vinton to clean-up since Monday. Volunteers with the church also helped in smaller communities like Garrison and Clutier.

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