On April 21, 2007, as I struggled with the decision to call off the Sunray High School Prom due to severe weather in the area or not, little did I know that the decision I made there would seem somewhat insignificant to decisions that would be made later in the evening as Sunray became a shelter for victims of the Cactus tornado.   Just as we were in the middle of our prom dinner, we received the word that Cactus had been hit by a tornado and that they had received substantial damage.   Shortly after that event, we received word that severe storms were moving into our area so the decision was made to cut the prom short so that the students could have time to seek shelter at home.   All of us left the school and sought shelter to ride out the storms.   Once the storms were over, the call came that Cactus was needing school buses to transport residents of Cactus to shelters.   One of those shelters would be at the community building in Sunray as Dumas was currently out of electricity.    Sam Thompson and Steve Gill made their way to Cactus in two of our buses to help with the transport.   They along with Dumas ISD buses transported 68 people to the Sunray shelter and others to a shelter in Dumas.   In the end, these men spent most of the night on the buses.

Following the notice that we would be receiving people who had lost their homes in the storm, City Manager Greg Smith did a great job in getting the community building open and up and running as a shelter.  In fact, after a few calls to let people know of the need, the community center was fully staffed with a computer intake system with clerks, translators for those who did not speak English and other volunteers who prepared food    (the first meal was left over from the prom which was catered by Fazoli’s out of Amarillo.  The manager of Fazoli’s Paul was with us that evening and he stayed late to set up the meal and have it ready for the people coming from Cactus.)  and supplies such as blankets for our neighbors when they arrived at the site.   Very few if any of the volunteers at the shelter had been formally trained nor had they participated in an activity like this before, but prior to the arrival of the first bus, Sunray was ready for whatever the evening might bring to the community.    From this moment on, a sense of pride welled up within me as I watched many of our community members selflessly spend the next 24 hours caring for these people’s basic needs as if they were members of their own family.   The names of all those who helped would be numerous and I am sure I would miss someone.  I wished someone would have made a list of all those who were there and helped out,  but just know that what you all did on Saturday and Sunday was a special blessing to me and to this community.   Not to mention what a blessing you were to the families of Cactus that found their way to our community.     The people who were helped were very appreciative and no matter what they needed whether it was food, clothing, baby formula, bottles, diapers, a toothbrush, soap, a towel, a bath, etc., etc., our community rallied to their aide and met every need better than could be expected.   In fact, late Saturday evening the Salvation Army showed up to provide services to these victims of the storm and by noon on Sunday, they were leaving as they said that Sunray had everything under control and their services were needed more elsewhere.   This is a great compliment to all of the ladies who were cooking the meals and to all of the volunteers that brought in items through donation and helped out around the community center.   It was amazing to look up and see so many of our community members helping out and doing whatever was necessary to make this time less stressful for those in need. 

This does not even take into account all of the emergency personnel from our ambulance and fire department that spent many hours working the search and rescue operations after the storm.   You and I can be proud of these who gave of their time to meet the immediate care needs of those who were injured or lost during the storm.   To make it through devastation of this magnitude without a loss of any lives is a miracle and our crews played a role in helping these people get the care that they needed.   I am glad we have such a well trained and ready group of men and women to meet those needs when they arise.

 This sense of community and taking care of those around us is one of the many reasons that I am thankful to call Sunray home and know that if my family and I;  or the school is ever in a bind, that help is just a phone call away.   Thanks again for your help and support during this event and my prayer is that we never have to experience this type event again, but if we do, I know that we will be prepared and ready to meet any obstacle that might present itself to us.