Tornado recovery: Maury Co. public servant in awe at volunteers' help after losing home

Tattered clothes and trash flapped in the wind, hanging from broken trees while fractured memories lay strewn about both sides of the road on Old Highway 99, following an outbreak of tornadoes across Middle Tennessee May 8.

Blackburn Lane was no different.

Whole portions of homes were laid bare, visible to passersby in the area. A stop by any one of the ravaged homes in the days after, and one could hear the sound of volunteer clean-up efforts coming from all directions. Chain saws, garbage bags and busy feet lead the way.

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People could be seen working everywhere.

The county has banded together with big hearts and big recovery efforts since the storms that passed through, claiming one life and destroying or damaging more than 245 structures.

Public servant helped by volunteers

One of those whose home was severely damaged in the storm's path is Maury County Constable Sam Barnes, who lives atop a hill on Blackburn Lane.

At press time, the family has been busy determining what the plan will be for the home, but his hope is to rebuild.

The Barnes family was in their home when the tornado hit their house on the fateful Wednesday afternoon.

Sam Barnes had just returned home from work when he and his wife Lori Barnes began to hear the approaching storm outside.

When he went outside, and he saw it.

Quickly taking cover under the stairs in their basement, they survived the moments of impact without injury.

Sam Barnes said, however, they felt the force of the storm completely blow out doors of their home and an enclosed sunroom on the side of their home was gone when they emerged from cover, leaving only a bare uncovered deck.

“You would not believe what it was like when the storm hit,” Barnes said, recounting the storm's fury.

Debris from inside their home laid scattered about the backyard, Friday.

A span of jaggedly snapped trees like broken matchsticks stretched down into a small valley below their home where another home also sustained damage.

Lori Barnes said that the trees that once covered the view of the house behind them were gone.

Workers kept at the work of cutting trees into movable burn piles and skid steers cleared paths for workers.

Next door neighbors, Jerry and Shirley Brady sustained their own roof damage.

Jerry Brady built the home where Sam Barnes’ wife Lori grew up. The Bradys barely escaped the tornado’s wrath unharmed.

Sam Barnes was elected as District 5 constable in 2022 and has had a career of serving the public in law enforcement. Since the storms hit, he saw a public – most of whom he did not know, step in to serve and assist him in his family’s time of need.

People just started showing up and without introductions, began to work.

“I don’t even know where most of these people are coming from,” Sam Barnes said the days after the storm. “We don’t know them, but we’re grateful.”

Following a large downed tree that damaged the façade of his home beyond repair, he and his wife struggle to know what’s next, but they have seen an outpouring of support to help them through this time.

Barnes watched May 10 as an excavator took down the front portion of his home.

Volunteers were deployed from Randolph Howell Elementary School, which acted as the relief hub, lead by Destiny Church.

Destiny Church Pastor Steven Morgan said they began to hear about what the county was doing, the day after the storm and just teamed up to boost those efforts.

“We just jumped in to help on what Jeff Hardy, director of Emergency Management and the county had already assembled,” Morgan said.

Convoy of Hope was a big piece of the help to partner with Destiny Church, bringing a big tornado relief package of supplies into the area, Morgan said.

Several other churches joined the efforts and a separate Red Cross operation set up a post for assistance.

Morgan said he had a count of nearly 150 folks from his congregation who helped, not counting other groups on site at Randolph Howell.

As previously reported, nearly 300 volunteers joined in the full effort.

What struck Morgan, he said, were the families who had survived the devastation, returning to give their donations of support such as gift cards for who might need them.

“Even the generosity of these people who were affected by the storms was incredible,” Morgan said.

Workers from recovery ministries such as “God Will Provide” helped people around the area and helped to bring normality back to the community.

Donald Castillo, with Knights of Columbus brought chainsaws to the Barnes home along with Brandon Park with Maury County Sheriff’s Department.

At one point late in the afternoon, as many as a dozen volunteers were helping the Barnes and Brady families with tree cutting and clearing just at their address.

Maury County School Board Chairman, Michael Fulbright said Sunday that he has worked many disaster relief efforts, but was never moved to such tears as when he took his trip down Old Highway 99 on Saturday.

“My in-laws live just off Old 99,” Fulbright said. “It was hardest to see that people’s homes are their safe spot and for many, to see that so violently swept away in moments, really rocks your sense of security.”

Donations for storm victims are still being collected through the Maury County Trustee’s office.

Donation tallies near $70k-plus for tornado victims, Mayor says

Maury County Mayor Sheila Butt told The Daily Herald last week that Maury County is one of the most prepared counties for the storm aftermath out of our surrounding counties and that the response of generosity has matched that.

Barely a week after the storm, Butt said Maury County had raised $66,430.16 through the Maury County Trustee’s Office for victims.

The mayor said one fund was set up for collection to cut down on the red tape of having access to funds to help victims in Maury County, but added that the Red Cross and United Way would be taking donations as well.

Butt and Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder both recently trained for such an emergency preparedness scenario, a little more than a month ago, Butt said.

“I’m so extremely proud of Maury County and the wonderful effort everyone here has put forward, making sure our county was taken care of,” Butt told The Daily Herald last week.

“We have seen an excellent response,” Butt said.

Praising the work of the Office of Emergency Management and the efforts from all associated law enforcement and fire department agencies, she added that there was also help coming in from outside of county as well.

“We truly did have a team effort here in Maury,” Butt said, who has visited some of the storm-damaged homes and has seen the relief response.

Not a 'quick fix'

Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Tennessee Department of Transportation also came to Maury County to join in the relief efforts, Butt said.

“Just being there was a sight to behold,” Butt said.

The cleanup, Butt said, would continue over the coming months and would not be a “quick fix.”

Butt teared up as she said her heart goes out to the family of the tornado's sole victim, Cheryl Lovett, who died in the storm, adding that “some loss cannot be replaced.”

Dave Campbell is a freelance writer in Columbia.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Maury County public servant finds help following Columbia tornado