Tuesday, April 20, 1999
Deerfield couple displaced by tornado
BY KEVIN ALDRIDGE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP — The waiting is the hardest part for Frank Jackson and Sue Wetterer.
The couple spent most of last week picking up the pieces of their belongings and their lives after the tornado ripped through southern Warren County. Their home on Shore Road in the subdivision of Loveland Park, a community of modest single-story homes, was one of the hard est hit in the county.
“All we can do is wait,” Ms. Wetterer said. “Wait for the insurance adjusters and contractors to tell us what happens next.”
The couple spent several days surveying the damage and salvaging personal items. Warren County building inspectors told them their house was uninhabitable.
“We have the dubious distinction of being the only people in the neighborhood who have to vacate their property because of the damage,” Mr. Jackson said.
“Where are we going to go?”
Five Deerfield Township homes were condemned or declared unlivable, while 20 others had moderate to significant structural damage.
Officials estimate the county sustained $1.5 million in damages and more than 100 homes were affected by the April 9 twister.
The storm ripped off a portion of the couple's kitchen roof, leveled a storage shed and garage and toppled several trees.
“When I saw all the damage ... I just screamed,” Ms. Wetterer said. “That's all I could do. It was the worst thing I'd ever seen.”
Family, friends and the community rallied. Mr. Jackson said the Sharonville company he works for donated a backhoe, chain saws and chains. Nearly a dozen co-workers patched up the roof and cleared debris.
“Things won't truly be OK until we are back in our house,” Ms. Wetterer said.
