"Newtonia has stopped the bleeding"

With nearly one week passed since the tornado that devastated Newtonia, Newtonia Baptist Church minister Doug Gripka told Neosho Daily News reporter Wes Franklin, Newtonia has "stopped the bleeding:"

“The big thing we’ve been doing these last few days is stopping the bleeding,” Gripka said. “And I think we’ve about accomplished that.”

He said the church is now preparing for the long-term recovery. It will remain open as long as needed, Gripka said, as the community picks up the pieces.

“We’ll continue to provide (relief) service as long as we’re needed, but I think the dimension of what we’ve been doing is going to drop off greatly in the next couple of days,” he said.

More than 100 students from area high schools are expected to come to the village tonight to pick up trash, and more volunteers are anticipated this weekend to offer what clean-up help they can.

Electric and telephone service is mostly up and running in those homes still habitable.

But much of the large debris and rubble removal waits on word from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and a declaration of natural disaster, according to Newtonia Mayor Dee Wormington.