Jess Mador

As WYSO remembers the 2019 Memorial Day tornado disaster, we've been speaking with Daytonians whose lives were forever changed by the storm. In this story, we hear from Norman Scearce. The Trotwood pastor and his Gateway Cathedral church helped coordinate recovery efforts in the hard-hit Trotwood area.

After surviving the tornado by sheltering in the bathroom with his family, Scearce ventured into the neighborhood and headed for his church to inspect the damage.

What follows is a transcript of the interview, edited for length and clarity:

The tornado that hit Trotwood last year left behind massive destruction, leveling businesses across the area and displacing hundreds of people from their apartments and homes. Among the residents forced to relocate temporarily were Michelle Potter and Terri Davis. The friends have called Trotwood home for decades and Davis says that when the sirens finally stopped on the night of the tornado, she barely recognized her neighborhood.

On the night of the 2019 Memorial Day tornadoes, when a twister with windspeeds of 170 miles per hour hit Montgomery County’s Shiloh Springs area, 32-year-old William Colston was in the apartment he shared with his mother and sister. His 26-year-old brother James Woody was home at his apartment in Columbus. They experienced the storm together in an unusual way.

This month on WYSO, we’re remembering the 2019 Memorial Day tornado disaster. This story brings us voices from Trotwood, where an EF4 tornado destroyed hundreds of homes, businesses, and apartments, and where many city residents are still recovering more than a year later.

As WYSO remembers the 2019 Memorial Day tornado disaster and its impacts, we return to one of last year's hardest-hit Miami Valley communities: tight-knit Northridge. Beth Wentz and Timothy Walker raised their two children in the area as longtime homeowners in their first house together. On the night of the storm, Wentz and the kids clung together in the basement as a massive EF4 twister destroyed the house all around them. Walker had just started on third shift at a Clayton warehouse when his sister-in-law called.

More details are expected soon on the state’s plan for reopening gyms, yoga studios and other fitness centers. Social distancing requirements in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Ohio could mean dramatic service changes for many of these typically close-contact businesses. WYSO’s been checking in with small business owners over the last few weeks to see how they’re coping during the coronavirus pandemic. In this interview, we hear from a gym owner in Kettering.

As the state prepares to reopen restaurants, some bars and retail establishments, some business owners are wondering what the future holds. Small businesses that rely on foot traffic are especially hard-hit in the coronavirus non-essential businesses shutdown.

To survive, many have experimented with new business models. Now, some Dayton entrepreneurs say they hope their customers will feel safe enough to return when their doors finally reopen.

Gov. Mike DeWine is allowing retail stores to reopen May 12.