Tag Archives: Tornado Relief

Putnam County will be collecting donations for Middle Tennesseans dealing with the aftermath of Saturday’s tornado through Wednesday. Cookeville Community Center Program Coordinator Debbie Parker said the center will take donations until 4pm Monday, and from 8am-7pm on Tuesday and Wednesday. Parker said she remembers the support the Upper Cumberland received during the tornadoes of 2020, and now is our ... Read More »

Putnam County and Cookeville residents and businesses donated some $240,000 to help families in west Tennessee and southern Kentucky impacted by the December tornadoes. Mayors Ricky Shelton and Randy Porter made the announcement Thursday on the second anniversary of the Cookeville tornado. The mayors held a Zoom meeting with the mayors of Dresden and Kenton, Tennessee and Graves County, Kentucky. ... Read More »

Putnam County residents affected by the March tornado will have access to free legal aid thanks to a new grant. The Legal Services Corporation has given $125,000 to the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee for direct legal services, educational outreach and free legal clinics. The Legal Aid Society will host three virtual legal clinics for disaster victims in Spring ... Read More »

Two new faith-based groups will provide long term relief for victims of the March tornadoes. Cookeville Regional Charitable Foundation Director John Bell said the United Methodist Council on Relief and Inspiritus will be surveying survivors and gathering info for the Benevolence Committees. These two groups specialize in long term relief. Which Bell said, is part of the recovery effort’s relief ... Read More »

The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee has made some $3.76 million in grants for tornado relief since March. Of that amount, just $258,550 has gone exclusively to Putnam County organizations. That’s roughly 6.8 percent of the grants. Donor Services Vice President Amy Fair said the lack of money going to Putnam is due to a lack of applications. “Any non-profit ... Read More »

Cookeville’s two Wendy’s restaurants sold more than 3,500 Tennessee Strong decals for tornado relief. Over 100 Wendy’s franchises across Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee and Alabama sold the decals at a dollar a piece. The money went towards the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee’s tornado relief fund.  Donor Services Vice President Amy Fair said the Cookeville locations ranked number one. “The two ... Read More »

Over 450 tornado survivors submitted relief applications for Cookeville/Putnam County Tornado Relief Fund before Tuesday’s midnight deadline. Economic and Community Development Coordinator Melinda Keifer said it’s not too late for other survivors to apply. “We have had tremendous outreach to the survivors to complete the needs assessment and get that turned into us,” Keifer said. “Obviously, we’re not going to ... Read More »

As a Crossville church group prepared to go help tornado victims in Chattanooga, they discovered about $5,000 worth of equipment has been stolen from their work trailers. Power equipment from the Cumberland Plateau Baptist Association went missing Tuesday morning before members embarked to Chattanooga. Director of Missions Kirk Casey said members used their personal equipment instead for the relief effort. ... Read More »

Tornado victims who need help with applying for the Cookeville-Putnam County Tornado Relief Fund can get in-person assistance this week. Volunteers will be available at the Cookeville Community Center beginning Friday to assist those who may not have computer access or who many need help. Assistance will be offered Friday and Saturday from 10am-4pm, Sunday and Monday 1pm-4pm; and Tuesday ... Read More »

FEMA has approved almost $717,000 in assistance for Putnam County residents affected by the March 3rd tornado. Much of the money has already been deposited into the accounts of residents impacted. If you were denied benefits, please read your letter carefully to understand why you did not receive assistance. FEMA Officials said in many cases it can simply be a ... Read More »