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Prosperity tornado
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By Melissa Keeney
 
Sunday, Mar 16, 2008 - 10:32 PM Updated: 11:17 AM

     In a town that lives by its name, Prosperity was pushed to its knees in a matter of minutes Saturday afternoon.  "This is as bad as I've seen it anywhere," says volunteer Eddie Fulmer.  By Sunday, residents in the hardest hit area along Highway 391 were getting help from Fulmer and others.  His team from Bethel Baptist Church travels the world providing disaster relief.  Now, it's their neighbors who need a hand.  "We're used to going out and helping someone else.  Now, we're helping ourselves. There's a big difference when it's at home."t brings tears to your eyes. Your old home is gone, and the person you love is in the hospital."  Other than a few broken bones, the 68 year old will be ok:  one blessing, in a town that knows how to count them.  "They have a long road ahead, but we're here to help them," says Fulmer.  "They have a long road ahead, we're here to help them."

     Some homes in the 16 mile path of destruction, dodged any damage.  Others are a total loss.  Fulmer says one home along 391 belongs to a young woman, and her fiance.  They were renovating the house before they get married.   The woman's future groom is due back from a tour in Afghanistan in just a few weeks.  "Her home is destroyed, and she's just broken up.  That's hard to see," says Fulmer.

     Then, there's homes like the one of Dolores Jones.  The ground where her mobile home once stood is just a pile of memories now.  "In a matter of seconds, it just took her home apart," says nephew Jessie Boyd.  Firefighters had to pull Jones from the rubble.  Her nephew says she's lucky she survived. 

"This is as bad as I've seen it anywhere," says volunteer Eddie Fulmer. By Sunday, residents in the hardest hit area along Highway 391 were getting help from Fulmer and others.
 

 

 

 

 

Bethel Baptist Church, 2503 Bethel Church Rd. Prosperity, SC 29127   (803) 364-3851