Goodman neighbors dedicated a special gazebo last week. Community members pulled together to build the gazebo in about one day and officials hosted a ribbon-cutting on Thursday, April 4. The new gazebo replaces the one that was destroyed by an EF-2 tornado two years ago.
Neighbors gathered to rededicate the gazebo on the second anniversary of the tornado and held the ribbon-cutting at 6:45 p.m., the time the tornado swept through town.
Approximately 100 people gathered to enjoy fellowship, hot dogs and sharing what progress the town has made since the tornado devastated the local elementary school, a car wash, two fire stations, damaged homes and uprooted trees.
For Heith Lewis, the ceremony was special. The gazebo is located in Terra's Park, named after his nine-year-old sister who died, along with their mother, in a car-train accident in 1991. The original gazebo was dedicated in their honor. Lewis said he was touched by the community's response.
"We had two or three guys that showed up and basically built the gazebo right at a day," Lewis said. "It's great that many people were there. It really meant a lot to me how the Goodman community comes together," he said.
Two redbud trees also were planted in remembrance. He and his brother, Jerod, planted the trees.
Mayor Greg Richmond said the original bid on the gazebo was $5,000 a year ago. However, the gazebo was built for much less, thanks to all the volunteer labor. The city recently purchased $1,400 worth of supplies. In addition, Sam Boblett, owner of Advance Design Trusses in Goodman, donated the materials and built a set of trusses to speed up the building process.
Volunteers initially had planned to work on the gazebo the week before, but bad weather hampered their efforts.
On Tuesday night, April 2, Richmond told those who attended the city council meeting that he wasn't sure the gazebo would be complete in time and didn't think the city would host a dedication.
But by Wednesday at noon, Josh Wagner and two assistants had built the gazebo almost to completion, except for the shingles.
Richmond said the announcement then came quickly on Wednesday evening that a special dedication would be held in about 24 hours.
The Lewis brothers cut the ribbon at the ceremony. Music played and people were able to visit during the dedication. The storms held out and the sun came out, Richmond said, to make for a nice evening.
Heith Lewis said he cooked and served a lot of hot dogs at the event, but had the chance to enjoy the neighbors who came out to support the dedication.
"People still do care," he said.
General News on 04/11/2019