Tornado might sound death knell for Oklahoma town

But on Saturday evening, a tornado that killed six of his fellow residents plucked Jones' mobile home from its gravel pad and slammed it into houses and trees on the other side of the street.

"I've lived here all my life and I said I'd never move, but I will now," Jones, 68, said Monday as he picked through the tangled debris of his former home.

The tornado dealt what could be the final blow to Picher, a once-thriving town of 20,000 just across the borders from Kansas and Missouri that became a federal government Superfund clean-up site because of lead pollution. About 800 still live there.

"I think we are at the point where this is the last straw," said Mayor Sam Freeman, whose own house was destroyed by the twister. "With all the devastation, I don't think it's feasible for anyone to stay."

The tornado left two large neighborhoods looking as if they were strafed by bombs. More than 100 houses and dozens of cars were demolished.

Breezes that used to rustle leaves now rattle shards of aluminum siding hanging on bark-stripped trees that are mere spindles sticking out of the ground.

"It makes me sick to my stomach," Freeman said.

Ellen Freeman, 88 and no relation to the mayor, lived in Picher for 68 years before taking a buyout three months ago. She was in town Monday to check on friends. She said the tornado on top of Picher's other troubles is unfair.

"I don't know how much more God can let us go through," she said.

The tornado destroyed one of Picher's last-remaining businesses, a convenience store that was the only place in town to buy gas. Other businesses have taken buyouts or closed long ago, leaving the main street a deserted series of dusty, paint-peeled storefronts.

The thrift shop moved out last month, the bank will relocate soon, even the volunteer fire department will go to a building outside of town later this year. Eventually, Picher's city government will disappear, too, the mayor said.

But on Monday, with power restored, Joyce Cox reopened G&J's, a small cafe where hamburgers and french fries are still 99 cents and greeting cards can be bought for 15 cents. Cox, in business since 1991, said Picher still has some life.

"We're tough," Cox said. "We're down, but we're not out. We're out pretty well, but not completely."

Gary Linderman said he has no plans to close the pharmacy he has run in Picher since 1980. Linderman delivers prescriptions to home-bound residents and lets some buy on credit. They call him "Lights Out Linderman" because he plans to be the last business to leave Picher.

"I'm going to stay here as long as I can, for as long as my patients need me," Linderman said.

But Linderman conceded the tornado was a serious blow to Picher in the wake of the environmental problem that is depleting the town.

"It's very depressing, it's 'Here we go again,' " Linderman said.

The Environmental Protection Agency planned to check for high lead levels Monday, but Miles Tolbert, the Oklahoma secretary of the environment, said he did not think there was an immediate public health hazard.

He said more testing is needed to be certain.

Ryan Sigle, a graduate of the Picher-Cardin High School in 2001, said no one will be able to erase the importance of Picher to those who grew up there.

"This will always be home, no matter what happens," Sigle said.

He came from his home in Branson on Monday to help sort through his mother's destroyed house. His mother was away when the storm hit.

Some people remember when Picher thrived through the middle part of the last century. Zinc and lead mines were big employers, but they also created toxic dust that drifted through the community and the mines contaminated creeks.

The last mines closed around 1970 and the federal government tried to clean up the area, but few people wanted to move to Picher because of the contamination. The government decided two years ago to buy everyone out.

As of last month, 300 offers had been made and 272 accepted so far; 800 applications in all were turned in.

Freeman said he was told Sunday that residents whose houses were destroyed by tornados can still get buyouts. They can also seek reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for loss of belongings in the tornado.

But some residents such as Jones said the buyout offers were not adequate. Jones was offered $22,000 for his two-bedroom mobile home and says, "I'm not sure what I can buy for $22,000."

Although his house was spared damage in the tornado, Picher native David Elmore said he had no interest in a buyout because he would only get about $75,000 and he can't get much of a house for that in nearby towns.

Elmore put a new roof on his house recently but since the tornado he only feels more stress and uncertainty about his future.

"I wanted to spend the rest of my life here," he said.