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Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Camryn Dean,7, plays on a pile of dirt behind her mother's rebuilt home in the heart of what was once nothing but debris and destroyed homes after a tornado hit the neighborhood almost one year ago, in Joplin, Missouri.
Joe Raedle / Getty Images
The Joplin High School sign is seen in front of the rubble of the school after the letters H and E were placed on it reading "Hope." The town is still rebuilding one year after the catastrophic tornado hit the town of Joplin, Missouri. Tuesday will mark the one-year anniversary of the EF-5 tornado that devastated the town.
Monday night, President Barack Obama is set to speak at Joplin High School’s commencement ceremony, nearly one year after a tornado stuck the town, wiping out 7,500 buildings, including the High School, and killing 161. On May 22, 2011, two high school students were killed as the tornado hit, a senior returning from graduation -- pulled through the sunroof of his car -- and a freshman also in a vehicle. Since that tragic day, students have been attending classes in makeshift structures spread across town. On Tuesday, they will symbolically break ground on three new schools which they hope to be complete by 2014.
Joe Raedle / Getty Images
(Left to right) Morgan Osburn, David Hoosier and Kim Hoosier spend a quiet moment together in front of a memorial built for their friend Lance Hare who was killed when the town was hit by a tornado in Joplin, Missouri.
Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Pastor Kathy Redpath gives communion during a service in a temporary tent set up by the Peace Lutheran Church next to their church that that was destroyed when a tornado hit almost one year ago in Joplin, Missouri.
Joe Raedle / Getty Images
The foundations of homes are all that remain after the debris has been cleared following the catastrophic tornado that hit almost one year ago in Joplin, Missouri.
Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Zac Bronson and his son, Nolan Bronson, plant trees in the front lawn of their new home which he built after his former home was destroyed when a tornado struck last year in Joplin, Missouri.
Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Camryn Dean, 7, plays in the newly built tornado shelter behind her mother's rebuilt home in the heart of what was once nothing but debris and destroyed homes after a tornado hit the neighborhood almost one year ago in Joplin, Missouri.
The rebuilding effort has been aided by thousands of volunteers and donations and support from far and near. Of the 553 businesses destroyed, 446 have reopened. The shell of what used to be the hospital still stands, though it has already been replaced by a new facility. Work has been ongoing to rebuild homes lost to the storm, but the area is speckled with empty lots and many still have no place to live.
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Hats off to the folks in Joplin! I have to admire their spirit and hard work!
All that progress and not one visit from Sean Penn!?
To the Joplin, MO families and their friends:
Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Psalm 48:14 For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.
Psalm 34:18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Maybe not Sean Penn, but I bet there's a Photo Op in this somewhere for Mr. Obama, especially this being election year!
Let's hope that no one has to ever go through that.. Wishful thinking I suppose.....
Yeah. That Obama commencement speech must've been brutal.
Obama is a virtual hermit for three years. Now that he is in a down election year it is all Obama all the time.
John, go soak your head. You are an idiot.
LOL............Did you ever pick up that GED Kitty?
Good job by all. Can't help but wonder why New Orleans is still a mess.
It's cos New Orleans is mostly BLAAAAAAAAAAAACK...
no its because those people want a handout. the people of joplin didnt wait. the minute after the storm left people were out helping one another like neighbors. in new orleans people were only worried about themselves and that is why the area is still messed up.
Think about it for 3 seconds and you'll know why NOLA is a mess.
DPY, you know this how? Or are you full of crap?
Choco kitty this may be news to you but DPY is correct. NOLA is mostly black, according to the US Census Bureau. Even you can draw a line from A to B.
Joplin Is a very strong town with so much resilience. As a volunteer who was serving with Americorps In Joplin after the tornado hit, I was amazed at the miracle of the human spirit. :) They have a determination to rebuild the town and get back to their lives no matter how hard the obstacle. And they are doing just that. My thoughts and prayers are still with Joplin. :)
It's a shame to see the effects of the socialist/marxist leadership in Washington who spread the wealth by helping out these citizens who were too dim witted to move out of the way of a tornado.
Where's the /sarc mark?
nobland ur a complete moron. If no one died there lives would have still been turned upside down losing everything. lets see i am sure you live in some area withe some sort of natural disaster. so if it happens i hope ur not in line wanting help.
Wow, a slug makes more sense than you do.
Are you just misinformed about tornados,, or are you just stupid? Please let the rest of us know you are just misinformed,,,, please!
It's a shame to see the effects of the socialist/marxist leadership in Washington who spread the wealth by helping out these citizens who were too dim witted to move out of the way of a tornado.
To the Joplin, MO families and their friends:
Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Psalm 48:14 For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.
Psalm 34:18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
What about all those people who are never comforted, never "guided" to recovery, and never feel anything like "God" in their lives, no matter how brokenhearted and crushed in spirit they may be?
Oh, never mind, I remember now-- It's because they have sin in their lives!
As if those who are more fortunate don't....
Remember:
It isn't welfare if YOU are the one receiving it!
Good luck and God bless the people of Joplin. God damn Barack Obama for making this a photo op for re election. The "man" is shameless.
Ditto Head,name me a president who hasn't re visit communities that have been devastated by a natural disasters? You and your Hooter's Fox Network Lemmings never got over the fact a black man could be elected president.
The folks in Joplin are probably wondering where Obama was just after the tornado hit. I think at the time he was in Ireland drinking a beer and announcing his Irish heritage.
Hey SteveH, where were you last year when Obama visited Joplin? Maybe if you took your eyes off Fox you might find out whats really going on in the world.
To the people of Joplin, I wish you all the best and fastest recovery. I lived many years in Joplin and although I have moved on from there, its a place that will always be in my heart.
I was in Joplin volunteering the day President Obama spoke. I very nearly could have been in that hospital when it got hit, working for a medical device company. Vast destruction as far as I could see on a scale the people of Hiroshima could relate to. But you know what? Good-hearted people from all over the country as well as many from other countries came to lend a hand moving rubble or just to hand out bottled water to those that lost everything. We didn't do it for political reasons. We just did it because there were folks that needed help. Politicize this if you wish, but I choose to remember the people that really mattered: the survivors, the volunteers, and 161 lives that were cut short... and I could easily have been one of them.
I Thought She Died.
I hope every new house have a concrete shelter place in main living room.
Joplin Missouri is not a place to rebuild a house due to it being destroyed by a tornado. There is a good chance it will happen again and again and again. Joplin is in tornado alley. Yes, it is tough to lose your home but it is worse to lose it a second time in the same place for the same reason.
Did Barry bring George Clooney or Sarah Jessica Parker?
Not sure, but did you bring your brain?
Oh...that is so clever Choco kitty. You realy should be writing for SNL or Letterman. Why haven't I read your witticisms before? I guess the Entertainer-In-Chief is an embarrassment to us all.
CONGRATULATIONS JOPLIN HIGH SCHOOL GADS, on all you have done to be where you all are today I am proud of each and every one of you, NOW GO SHOW THE WORLD WHAT YOU ARE MADE OF.
Joplin community could have used the $1,000,000.00+ that it cost the US taxpayer (me and u) to START up Air Force One and themoney for the extra Secret Service. Does this man every think of anything but a photo op?
EVER???
I spent last 4th of July and night with my family in Joplin on our way to Dallas. It was something my kids, wife and I will never forget.
Seeing on TV and being on the ground worlds apart.
Congratulations on your pride, your courage and your determination to bring Joplin back for you and your children!
Mr. Obama's being there was nice but obviously a campaign year op. Great folks in Joplinnwho believe they can make it happen, on their own if necessary.
Those are really strong people in Joplin. It is hard to start over. Unfortunately, our smiling Obanana president interrupted the kids graduation in order to garner a few votes! His intrusion was a disgrace! The kids obviously didn't want him there! Other articles with interviews from the students confirmed their contempt for the president turning their glorious day into a campaign stop!
While I applaud the people of Joplin for emboding the American spirit and began rebuilding their lives brick by brick, one home at a time, I find it interesting that Katrina is envolked into the conversation and even used as a comparison in terms of devastation. I learned in elementary science that the most DESTRUCTIVE force in nature is Water! To compare the two is ludicrous!
Oh, by the way, neither had anything to do with political affiliation!
My heart goes out to those in Joplin. I know the pain that they are still feeling as half of my state was destroyed on April 27, 2011. We ourselves are still rebuilding and "repairing our lives". Seeing your family, friends and a community go through that is heartbreaking. I personally had family members and friends be affected by this and you do what you can to help out. We ARE strong people and we will rebuild our towns. I drive through the communities, seeing the progress from our fellow Americans, and I say THANK YOU to all that is involved. I am so proud to say that we are Americans, we are strong and will rebuild. Total death toll around our state was over 300. Sorry to say I didn't see Obama come our state. Just a photo opp.