FULTON COUNTY, Ill. (WMBD) — Two weeks after severe weather ravaged the Central Illinois region, communities in Fulton County continue to clean up the damage.
One such community is the city of Lewistown, which was hit hard by the storms. However, the city has been able to clean up rapidly due to community support.
“The whole town showed up to help, everybody was out picking up sticks, we were hit pretty hard here, but I’d say in a matter of a few days I’d say 90 percent of it was cleaned up,” said Frank Merrill, the Chief of Police for Lewistown.
One part of the city hit especially hard was the local high school, which suffered severe damage to its football field and track. The debris has been picked up, although structural damage from the storm remains. Jeff Braun, Superintendent for the Lewistown school district, said that local districts have reached out to support Lewistown’s track and field team.
“We won’t be able to host any track meets this year, and we had a number of school districts reach out locally, some of our neighboring districts, to offer their facilities, and their support to help us be able to still host our track meets,” Braun said.
City officials are proud to see how the community has united together when it matters most.
“We can’t stop the weather, but we can get together when something like this happens and help each other out, and I think primarily that’s what we need to do,” Merrill said.
