Bowling Green continues to rebuild, remember those lost after December 2021 tornado outbreak

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WDRB) -- One year after devastating tornadoes swept across Kentucky, claiming lives and destroying homes and businesses, Bowling Green is one area of the commonwealth that continues picking up the pieces.

Ronnie Ward, with the Bowling Green Police Department, said the night the storm hit, it was difficult to comprehend the kind of damage that was left behind.

Bowling Green 31-W Bypass, Dec. 2022 — Bowling Green 31-W Bypass. Dec. 5, 2022. *(WDRB Photo)*

"This went right through the middle — entire part of the city — from one end to the other," Ward said, describing the path of the storm. "We started writing addresses down where the coroner is going to be needed, and I thought, 'I can't wrap my mind around this. This does not seem real to me.'"

A total of 17 people were killed in Warren County due to this storm. One of them was 77-year-old Mae White.

"I never thought that I would lose my mom in the tornado," said Sharbai White, Mae White's daughter.

Mae White, Bowling Green tornado victim — 77-year-old Mae White, one of Bowling Green's tornado victims. (photo submitted by Sharbai White.)

Here is the list of 17 confirmed fatalities in Warren County:

Cory Scott: 27-year-old male located at residence on Vanmeter Road in Rockfield, Kentucky
Mae F. White: 77-year-old female located at residence on Hillridge Court
Victoria Smith: 64-year-old female located near residence on Moss Creek Avenue
Rachel Brown: 36-year-old female located near residence on Moss Creek Avenue
Steven Brown: 35-year-old male located near residence on Moss Creek Avenue
Nariah Cayshelle Brown: 16-year-old female located near residence on Moss Creek Avenue
Nolynn Brown: Juvenile male located near residence on Moss Creek Avenue
Nyles Brown: 4-year-old male located near residence on Moss Creek Avenue
Alisa Besic: Adult female located near residence on Moss Creek Avenue
Selmir Besic: Juvenile male located near residence on Moss Creek Avenue
Elma Besic: Juvenile female located near residence on Moss Creek Avenue
Samantha Besic: Infant female located near residence on Moss Creek Avenue
Alma Besic: Infant female located near residence on Moss Creek Avenue
Robert Williams Jr.: 65-year-old male death at Skyline Medical Center as a result of injuries sustained in storm.
Say Meh: 42-year-old female death at The Medical Center at Bowling Green as a result of injuries sustained in storm.
Terry Martin Jayne: 67-year-old male death at The Medical Center at Bowling Green as a result of cardiac arrest during storm cleanup.
Nyssa Brown: 13-year-old female located near residence on Moss Creek Avenue

According to family, Mae White was hiding from the storm in a home off Hillridge Court but didn't survive. Her home was heavily damaged. Her family has since decided to sell the property, and a new house has been built there now for someone else to move in.

"I think it was best, because us just rebuilding and moving back in there would've been hard on us," Sharbai White said.

She now keeps a heart-shaped necklace with her mother's picture around her neck and said the family has held balloon releases in her memory.

Sharbai White wears a necklace with her mother, Mae White's picture. Dec. 6, 2022. *(WDRB Photo)*

"You can buy a home back but you can't never get your family member back," Sharbai White said.

Beginning one week after the storm until June 12, contractors and internal staff picked up and disposed of 132,511.6 cubic yards of vegetative debris and 60,990.85 cubic yards of demolition debris, according to Matt Powell, environmental manager for the City of Bowling Green.

The city also removed dangerous hanging limbs from 195 trees, cut 189 leaning and damaged trees, and removed 32 stumps, according to Powell. He said city staff spent 6,179 hours on debris removal.

The community was also filled with volunteers who spent countless hours helping their neighbors.

According to the City-County Planning Commission's website, there was more than $100 million of estimated damage.

"An event of this magnitude is different looking at it on paper and seeing it in real life," Ward said.

He said despite the devastation, there were moments of hope seeing how the community worked together and neighbors did what they could from the very beginning to help one another.

"We started putting our city back together, physically, in a very short amount of time," Ward said. "But mentally, it's not going to take a year. It's going to take more than a year."

In the past 12 months, numerous homes have been built, roofs that have been repaired, and apartment buildings that were destroyed are under construction. Restaurants and businesses that were damaged are making posts online, promising the community they will return.

Tree topper in downtown Bowling Green, Kentucky. Dec. 2022 — Tree topper in downtown Bowling Green, Kentucky. Dec. 5, 2022. *(WDRB Photo)*

To honor the victims and remember the changes in this community over the past year, Bowling Green is finding ways to come together and mark the first year since the storm.

The Christmas tree that sits downtown has a tree topper made from recycled tornado debris.

Also, at 6:11 p.m. Dec. 11, the community is encouraged to stand along the path of the tornado with lights for 17 minutes, remembering the 17 lives that were lost in Warren County.

"The idea is to flood the path of destruction with a light of hope," Ward said.

The process of rebuilding continues in Bowling Green, as it does in other areas of Kentucky that were drastically impacted by these tornadoes.

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