Community members came together Saturday evening at the Planters Bank Pavilion to mark the one-year anniversary of the December 10th tornado — a night that will forever be in our memories.
Pathways lined with luminaries led up to the pavilion with holiday season greenery wrapped in white lights draped along the top of the structure served as the backdrop for the solemn commemoration ceremony marking the one-year anniversary of the EF-4 tornado that forever changed our community.
When preparing his comments for the ceremony, Mayor Kota Young said he did something he has tried not to do the past twelve months — remember that night along with the emotions it brought to the surface.
click to download audioAnd that, he said, makes him even angrier because it’s not fair to downplay what happened because of the lives lost and the destruction.
click to download audio
Young said he found comfort after the Lord led him to a Bible verse in Genesis 9.
click to download audioEvery night, Young said he prayed for strength, wisdom, and courage in leading our community. The courage to accept what he cannot change, the strength to change the things he can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Then he takes a deep breath and remembers that night and is thankful for those who survived
.Young added what happened to the community cannot be changed; hit by an Ef-4 tornado that destroyed homes and took four of their neighbors. Although he will never get over being angry, sad, or guilty about that, he said it won’t steal his thankfulness, the memories, the hope he has for the future, and the joy he feels watching the new chapter being built.
click to download audioFollowing the mayor’s comments and a prayer, Caldwell County Judge-Executive Larry Curling noted there was a larger impact from that storm than all the destruction of the homes — the loss of four lives in the community and 81 across the state.
click to download audioAfter a moment of silence to commemorate the four lives lost one year ago, the ceremony ended with the crowd singing a special Christmas song — ‘Silent Night’.
The commemoration ceremony can be heard in its entirety by clicking below:
