Volunteers spring into action

After the forces of nature unleashed their worst on the city, the people of Ruston responded with their best.

It did not take long following the devastation of the F3 tornado that ripped through Ruston Thursday morning before crowds of volunteers took to the streets, with countless cleanup and relief efforts scattered throughout the many affected areas.

City officials urged volunteers Thursday to keep the roadways clear until active power lines could be safely dealt with, but after working through a 10 p.m. – 6 a.m. curfew Thursday night, the city began centralizing volunteer efforts Friday.

Based in the Ruston Civic Center and spearheaded by Amy Stegall of Trinity United Methodist Church, the city established a hub for relief work where volunteers could check in and be sent out.

Rolling Hills Ministries, United Way, the American

Red Cross and other relief organizations were active in the efforts, but countless volunteer crews were simply composed of concerned residents, bound together by simple social connections and a love for Ruston. We have highlighted just a few of their stories.

Ruston High School cleanup

“This is our town,” said R.J. Brown, an eighth grader on the Ruston Junior High School football team. “So we’re trying to give back to our community that’s already helped us so much.”

Brown and more than a hundred other volunteers turned up at Ruston High School’s L.J. “Hoss” Garrett Stadium Friday morning and began cutting and clearing away the many trees and other debris strewn across the area.

Teachers, athletes from many of the school’s sports teams, and other community members coordinated over social media to come together and clean the hard-hit stadium and surrounding area.

“I was born and raised here,” Ruston Bearcat Band member Brendan Hood said. “We just wanted to come out and help. We’ve been knocked down before, but we’re out here trying to pick back up.”

“Don’t forget to eat”

Several businesses, churches and other groups distributed food and supplies to storm victims and volunteers alike. Donors brought non-perishable items to the Civic Center for distribution while food was given away throughout the city.

A major relief hub in the severely damaged Barnett Springs area in the west side of the city was The Springs church, a recent branching ministry of Temple Baptist Church.

The Springs pastor George Lee said the church opened its doors beginning Thursday to an influx of neighborhood residents who hadlostpowerandfood and needed to charge their phones and fill theirbellies.Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were provided Thursday and Friday in partnership with Rolling Hills, and the Subway in Grambling donated sandwich trays.

Lee said this kind of community relief effort fits perfectly into the church’s mission.

“We’re believing this work here at The Springs will be a multigenerational, multicultural and multi-ethnic body of believers embracing the love of Christ,” he said. “Our mission and our vision is embracing the love of Christ, starting in the heart, surfacing in the home, and spreading to the community.”

“So what we’re doing here is spreading the love of Christ into the community. That looks like sharing the Gospel, but also showing the Gospel. So this is a showing and a sharing of the love of Christ to our community during a time of disaster.”

The Springs will again be serving multiple meals Saturday, April 27 at 1601 South Barnett Springs Avenue.

Barnett Springs recovery

Many houses in Barnett Springs neighborhoods were still inaccessible due to fallen trees Friday morning. Volunteer crews swarmed the area, including Morgan Hartline and a group of Ruston residents who all train at the same Crossfit box.

When their friend who lives on University Boulevard showed her companions videos of the damage to her street, the group sprang into action Thursday and returned to help others on nearby Pinewood Lane Friday.

“She sent us videos, and that’s how we knew we needed to go lend our hands,” Hartline said. “When you look down the roads (Thursday morning), there was just trees everywhere — you couldn’t see the houses. We looked down a road one time, and we couldn’t even tell it was a road.”

She said Pinewood Lane, which sustained heavy damage, had not been touched by cleanup crews Thursday.

“So people want to put in the effort, we want to help,” Hartline said. “Our saying has been ‘little by little.’ Not everybody has the chainsaw, so not everybody can be right in it, but little by little we do what we can.”

Full cleanup and restoration will not be accomplished overnight, but any progress can make a difference to those in need.

“For people to be able to get into their homes, to pull out things that belong to them, memories they can salvage,” Hartline said. “It’s something, hopefully.”