s, (5/12/2008 8:54:39 AM)

No mention of the Good Doctor Tom Coburn. He's probably busy blocking FEMA assistance for his constituents. You're doing a heck of a job, Tommy...

Boilermaker, (5/12/2008 9:04:55 AM)

Picher, which has a population of about 800, contains towering piles of mining waste, known as chat. The piles were covered Sunday with debris from homes torn apart by the storm.

The area is part of the Tar Creek Superfund Site, and many residents have already applied for a federally funded buyout of their homes.

Inhofe said that people who are awaiting buyouts but now have damaged homes should not be concerned. "If they have not gone through buyout yet, this will not adversely affect their buyout," he said.
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When I read article yesterday...I thought this was the "Lead" town. God, to think that these people live next to piles of lead!!!

For me, This is a sign from GOD...That town should of been EVACUATED from the git and go!!! I pray that no children were still there...if so, pray for their life here on. I've seen the effect of prolonged LEAD EXPOSURE...not pretty.

Some things should not be messed with by man.... People should have been gone long ago.

AL, Tulsa (5/12/2008 9:25:46 AM)

I’m appalled at the governor’s lack of response to the global warming thunderstorms and tornadoes. We have no comprehensive strategy in place whatsoever, let alone a detailed plan of action to mitigate the effects of these tornadoes, and mother earth continues to suffer while the governor’s office refuses to go forward and do what’s right for mother earth.
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How long must we sit idly by while our mother continues to suffer from the warming taking place at a feverish pace? How long must our mother suffer before we have proper c02 taxes put into place? How long must the destruction of mother earth take place before we finally put responsible plans into action? How long must we wait until we beef up our corn ethanol production? At least Obama wants to cut c02 pollution by 80%; he is definitely our best hope.
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We the people call upon the governor to implement a comprehensive antiglobal warming strategy at once and work in coordination with state and federal officials; these tornadoes and storms continue to worsen and the quicker we stop the warming the sooner we will see these storms cease. We need action now.

Former Miamian, Tulsa (5/12/2008 9:35:27 AM)

I lived 19 years of my life in the Miami/Commerce/Picher-Cardin area. It would have been nice if the people of Picher and Cardin could pack up and move. The sad thing is a majority of those people just make enough money to get by. I am talking dirt poor. The Federal Government has spent a fortune trying to clean up a no-win war on the lead. From north Commerce all the way to Joplin, Missouri, the ground is hallow underneath. My grandfather said at one time you could drive that stretch all the way underground in the tunnels. Those tunnels have long since filled with water and the lead and zinc leach out of the water-logged chat. They should have cleared the people out and made it like the area known on the Planet of the Apes... the forbidden zone.

Ralph, Broken Arrow (5/12/2008 10:15:17 AM)

To #3. I think you need to get a quick hit on some oxygen, some of that gray matter in you head is dead. Did you bother to read the article, it has a history that goes back to 1905. I'm sure even Al Gore can't blame the storms in the past on global warming. And if you think that Obama can solve any and all problems, you live in a fantasy world.
At this time, I think we need to all come to an agreement to say a prayer for the families of those who lost loved ones in this horrific tragedy.

TS, Tulsa (5/12/2008 10:18:51 AM)

AL, you are a shrill idiot. If CO2 caused the tornadoes then you hold your breath and we'll start killing the cows.

warden, (5/12/2008 10:19:59 AM)

In another TW article, it states that many people will likely not rebuild in Picher. No kidding! If one cent of Federal or State funds is used to rebuild in a town where the government is already buying up house, it would certainly be a crime! Literally!

This is the perfect time to settle up with those folks and move them out of the Superfund site!

Joe-Allen Doty, Tulsa, OK (5/12/2008 10:34:27 AM)

[June 8, 1974: Eighteen people, including three in Tulsa, were killed when 25 to 30 tornadoes formed in 19 counties.

The storm was called the worst in Tulsa’s history. The same storm system spawned a tornado in southern Kansas that killed six people and injured 220. One person in Tulsa was killed by a tornado, and two drowned.]

It was on that very date that my folks' house was hit by tornadic force winds and those winds hit our house on S. 29th W. Ave near W. 47th St. in Carbondale (that's in Southwestern Tulsa) before houses were destroyed to the east of us in the Brookside area on the East side of the Arkansas River.

Joe-Allen Doty, Tulsa, OK (5/12/2008 10:45:15 AM)

I would not call the tornado at Picher a "sign from God" at all. While the God in whom I believe created weather, he should not be blamed for any kind of bad weather. Insurance companies call a tornado, amoung other earthly happenings, a "act of God."

We do need to remember in prayer the family and friends of the loved ones who lost their lives or were injured in the storms no matter where they were on Saturday. Read the article about the Country Gospel Singer, Dottie Rambo, in today's paper.

It will be sometime before those surviving family members and the friends of those who lost their lives get through the grief and bereavement processes due to the death of lost loved ones.

I know about that because I had to have professional help to get me through the loss of some of my loved ones. One of them was my older brother and the other one was my best friend.

Steve-o, Pryor (5/12/2008 11:22:22 AM)

Uh, global warming and tornadoes? Was global warming the excuse in the 1882 tornado, what about the one in 1920 or 1937? I really don't believe that global warming has anything to do with tornados or thunderstorms. The hottest year we have on record is 1936. Not a lot of global warming going on then either probably. Sure global warming is a concern. but how can you blame spring weather in Oklahoma on global warming. Been living in Oklahoma for very long?

TYLER, TULSA (5/12/2008 11:43:58 AM)

Forget it Steve. AL is another jerk who drank the Kool-aid. These increased tornadoes are due to COLD air masses and la nina' winds, etc. Al would have us belive that there were no hurricanes and tornadoes until Henry Ford came along.

Will, Pryor (5/12/2008 12:16:02 PM)

To AL in Tulsa, do you not know that ethanol is worse for our air than burning regular fuel? Check the stats. How about the next time you go to the restaurant or the grocery store, thank all the pushers of ethanol for your high prices, and the end of the american farmer. Sounds like you think Obama can help, well you better check his stats too.
Natural disasters like this have been occuring for years, its the overzealous news media that sensationalize them now , and would you want to be in the middle of a disaster with some camera haunting you while you pick through what was once your home??? Shame on the media for sensationalizing the plight of tornado victims

Dan, (5/12/2008 12:27:22 PM)

Global warming, climate change, whatever you want to call it is impacting weather throughout our planet including here in Tulsa Oklahoma. It has been shown to affect the weather patterns with the oceans in what might be called a macro-weather-effect. Just like the macro-economics of the US affect our own individual micro-economic world, i.e., jobs, the macro-weather of the earth affects the micro-weather of Tulsa OK.
Now AL in number 3, Al Gore?, is what you might call a radical on this issue. It is unfortunately enconomically unfeasible to stop using oil and therefore production of CO2. When oil prices get high enough to develop AND actually use other forms of energy, is when it will be economically feasible to use them. That is not to say that some sort of action, it doesnt have to be increasing taxes or some other radical thought, cannot be take now to impact this issue.
It is important to take action on these sorts of issues as soon as possible, including better planning at the state level of government.
Now getting back to a different point that AL made, it would be a wise decision to for the state to plan better for the increasing number and damage of tornadoes and other weather, seen more ice storms lately?, yea its all part of the micro-weather-effect in Oklahoma.

michael , tulsa (5/12/2008 1:01:00 PM)

here we go again, #1 you are an idiot.....leave coburn out of this....he is a good man & would not hurt this state....
also what does global warming have to do with this you morons!?

tdw, broken arrow (5/12/2008 1:03:30 PM)

If we can get away from all the Global warming crap, does anyone else feel like all of these deaths Saturday were from too many cries of wolf from the tv weather forecasters. They have seen hundreds of tornadoes the last week, but only a few seem to have actually existed. You get to the point where you stop listening and find a cable channel with no weather on it.

David, Tulsa (5/12/2008 1:10:04 PM)

I like small town Oklahoma. I have recently visited Picher, old photographs of the town in hand, being a tourist I suppose. Its sad how little of the town was left, even before a tornado brought them even more undeserved misery. The younger families should move away, since wind blown lead dust is especially toxicv to children and accumulates over time in young adults. The older folks, who call Picher home and can't start over elsewhere, should be unmolested. Dirt poor? Yes. Stupid? No. Let's leave them alone to make their own decisions.

lora, sand springs (5/12/2008 1:24:50 PM)

Please remember that when you put comment s on these sites that peoples friends and family could be reading them. My Husband is from Pitcher and is a highly intelligent human being, please stop making these people out to be ignorant. If you have not lived in a small rural town then you won't and can't understand how hard is to leave the only thing you and generations of those you love and respect have ever known. My understanding that the money the goverment is offering is enough to maybe put down a down payment on a new home, but it won't buy one anywhere near family and friends without having to get a loan. Most of these homes are payed for, which means that they have lived at lower buget than the rest of us now they will have to come up with the money to make house payments.

ziggy, nowata (5/12/2008 2:21:46 PM)

people die every day, the circle of life.. adam made sure of the death factor..

Reason McLucus, Hutchinson, Ks (5/12/2008 2:36:55 PM)

I was saddened to hear about the Picher tornado. 30 years ago I visited there several times when I worked for what was then known as the Northeast Counties of Oklahoma Economic Development Association. The government should have helped the residents move from there a long time ago.

the numerous tornadoes this year are not the result of so-called global warming. Instead they are being caused by the la Nina condition in the Pacific which is associated with colder temperatures. Tornadoes and especially tornado outbreaks are most common in la Nina years with el Nino (warm) years having
reduced tornadic activity.
The Greensburg, Ks. tornado last year occurred during a developing la Nina condition. Major past outbreaks have occurred during la NIna years.

jh, pv (5/12/2008 3:34:15 PM)

#14 you are the idiot. Coburn ran on the fact that he "wouldn't do anything for Oklahoma" and dumb Okies said, "that sounds like my kinda guy!"

As a friend of mine said, "You want a guy like Coburn in the senate, but you don't want him to be from your state".

Rex Brinley II, Locus Grove (5/12/2008 3:53:25 PM)

The various government entities should have adequate records of who lived in the destruction zones and should fast-track their settlements for new housing. I dont think there's much chance of fraud but you know how things go during disasters. If they can just keep the people living in Tulsa who filed false damage claims on Katrina out, it will go a long way to helping the people of Picher who have nothing now. As a legal standpoint, the whole town was already "pre-disastered" via the government condemnation. There should be no bickering by the government about what the houses are worth or not worth today. It may be painful for the people who waited for a fair settlement as they are now motivated to work with government appraisers on their terms. But this is not a time to take advantage of someone's grief but to step in and offer a hand up to the people who lost families and property. The government can do two good things here. It can make good on earlier promises and take care of current needs. If that needs to be two separate steps to keep Chartof happy, then so beit.

my thought, tulsa (5/12/2008 4:54:02 PM)

Referring to the '99 tornado, I remember the storms coming from OKC on the pike, but once the tornados reached Tulsa, did it end here? Or did it continue going northeast?

Okie, (5/12/2008 9:51:06 PM)

I thought that global warming started right after the ice age went away. And it's been getting warmer since. I get so sick of hearing that stuff. I hope Red Cross has started adding K-Y Jelly to those aid packs with directions reading "For use when FEMA arrives". I just wish I could help each of those victims.

Tink Smith, Quapaw (5/13/2008 1:42:50 AM)

Me and my family are from Picher. Generations of my family are from Picher. God Bless those that lost loved ones....my friends and family. My aunt and uncle lost possessions, but were spared.

Making this a political discussion makes me wanna puke. People need to pray for those that are suffering or get a life.

AL, Tulsa (5/13/2008 9:47:05 AM)

#13 -Dan, you are on the right track.
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To the others who continue to rant, complain, and stick your heads in the sand and deny global warming, please sit still and stop kicking and screaming like little children. You cannot fight change; we will get Obama elected and you will learn to live responsibly and pay your fair share of c02 taxes.
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We will save mother earth, irregardless of a few little children who choose to act like babies. Grow up. We are fighting for the change mother earth needs, and we are winning; come join us today.