After experiencing severe damage in less than 10 minutes in the wake of an EF1 tornado on April 17, 2024, Windham’s response was immediate. The Township’s quick and effective response was recognized as Portage County Emergency Management Agency Director Ryan Shackelford presented the Township with a building plaque for Windham’s courageous response and recovery to the tornado and the Township also received a proclamation from the County Commissioners and a commendation from the State of Ohio at Windham Town Hall on May 1.
“We are only as resilient and strong of county unity based on how resilient and prepared that the local community is and that goes all the way down to the individual and family level,” Shackelford told The Weekly Villager. “They did an absolutely incredible job and that is why that plaque recognizes the individual community.”
In addition to Shackelford presenting the Board of Trustees with a plaque, State Representative Heidi Workman presented the Board with a commendation on behalf of the State of Ohio.
“We want to manage these events,” Shackelford noted. “All of these events are meant to be managed at the local level and we did that and for the State to recognize those efforts in the community was phenomenal and I really appreciated her doing that.”
According to Shackelford, the Portage County EMA sent out a tornado warning just minutes before the EF1 tornado hit Windham. In less than 10 minutes, 35 properties were damaged, with four being destroyed, the roads were littered with debris and powerlines were knocked down.
Shackelford said that no sooner did the tornado pass through Windham, the response officially begin.
“Their ability to get out immediately, start helping neighbors, bringing out chainsaws, cutting up trees, getting all of that debris, we removed 46,000 pounds of vegetative debris,” he added. “Government does not go on private property. The ability of citizens to come out and clear that debris from the property, they worked their tail off for days.”
While the Windham citizens were swift to help, Shackelford also praised Board of Trustees members, Dan Burns, Rich Gano and Brian Miller for not only demonstrating leadership but also lending a hands-on approach to clean up Windham in the wake of being in the eye of the storm.
“They are just authentic people,” he said. “The reality is that just whatever got the job done. From the road department to the three Trustees, they are the highest elected officials of their community. They can guide people what to do but they were boots on the ground and they were going to houses.”
Although several families were displaced from their homes, including children who attended school in the Windham School District, Shackelford said that the Portage County EMA had partnerships in place with several housing partners and other entities that immediately sprung to action, enabling those students to stay with friends and family in neighboring communities such as Garrettsville and Kent.
“We already had partnerships with some of the school districts, so it was all of the preparedness in the background that people do not see that paid dividends,” Shackelford noted.
Even after Windham cleaned up the immediate damage caused by the tornado, Shackelford acknowledged that some of the effects caused several properties to be destroyed. What made this destruction even more devastating is that even though there was a lot of work that still needed to be done, the damage did not meet the minimum requirements that could enlist the help of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Any financial support would have to come at the local level.
Fortunately, the Portage County EMA had just recently established a disaster relief fund. The Portage County Disaster Relief Fund raised $18,751 in donations to aid residents’ need for financial assistance for repairs to their property and houses.
“We had nine applicants and out of those nine applicants, seven were made whole on their request,” Shackelford said. “Two were still about 50, 60 or 70% funded on their request so with the little funding we had hopefully brought some kind of relief to them because without that they were not going to get anything.”
Of the seven applicants that were fully funded, Shackelford said that they received full financial support for damages to their structure and living space while the other two who were partially reimbursed received aid for property damage.
It has been more than a year since the initial aftermath of the EF1 tornado, but Shackelford said that Windham demonstrated incredible unity and courage in its effort to immediately come to the aid of their neighbors.
