News : Strongs seek to help students at SWCC after tornado

Spartan Hall, future home of Vikette Ashley Strong, was damaged by tornado. (Photo from KSOM Radio)

2012 Vinton-Shellsburg graduate Ashley Strong expects to be living next year in Spartan Hall on the campus of Southwestern Community College in Creston, where a sudden tornado significantly damaged that building over the weekend.

Ashley's mom, Teresa, is organizing a food and personal items drive for the college.
Ashley will play softball and volleyball for SWCC. The softball team lost some equipment in the storm, and is in need of new softballs for its games, said Teresa.

"Ashley would've been in Spartan Hall that was severely hit," said Teresa. "The college took a direct hit from the F2 tornado. There wasn't any warning as it basically formed right over the top of them. The Creston hospital is pretty much destroyed; it is close to the college. I just looked at an update on the Schools' website and all 4 of their residence halls are damaged and they are moving all the students out of the resident halls. Spartan Hall and Spartan Suites were damaged so badly that the students are not being allowed on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the buildings. What a mess!"

For more information, contact Teresa at 319-651-4611 or by email at strongpatrol11@msn.com
"Vinton people know too well what natural disasters can do and how it takes a "village" to get it back together and survive," says Teresa. "The majority of the people affected there are college kids who have little resources available to them right now."