‘I don't know if we can take any more'
Picher resident: 'I don't know if we can take any more'

By Michael Kimball, John Sutter, Sheila Stogsdill and Jennifer Palmer

Published: May 12, 2008

Six people died in the town.

"All that we have been through, the buyouts, fights with the EPA, the ice storm, I don't know if we can take any more,” said John Sparkman, Picher Housing Authority director.

Gov. Brad Henry toured the damage area by air and by ground on Sunday, a tour taken many times before by officials surveying damage left from decades of lead and zinc mining. Henry said the tornado damage is widespread, cutting a wide swath through Ottawa County, including Picher, Peoria and Quapah. The damage is sometimes a half-mile wide, he said.

Henry declared a state of emergency in Ottawa County late Saturday and is still looking into the situation in other counties, he said. The state of emergency is the first step in requesting federal disaster aid. Henry spoke with President Bush later Sunday.

State and federal officials are expected to begin damage assessments today.

"We will get through this pulling together and working together as Oklahomans, making sure our neighbors have what they need,” Henry said. "We will overcome this adversity just like we always do.”

Picher Fire Chief Jeff Reeves said Sunday afternoon that all residents had been accounted for. The search-and-rescue phase had converted to a cleanup operation. Empire District Electric Co. reported that 2,000 customers were still without power at 7 p.m. Sunday, down from 14,000 after the storm hit.

The bodies of three of four people who were in a car were found near a 3-acre sewer lagoon, said Michelann Ooten, spokeswoman for the state Emergency Management Department. One male's body was found in a tree, another male's body was found in the lagoon and a female's body was found deep in the lagoon. The fourth person in the car, a 13-year-old girl, survived.

Also, the bodies of two adult females were found on the west side of town near their residences, Ooten said.

The final victim, a mother, was found dead a block from her home. Her husband and an infant survived.

Names of the victims have not been released. But one of the adult women found near her residence was Linda Mathis, 48, said her daughter Angela Bertie, 28. Bertie said she found her mother dead on the street on Saturday night while searching for victims.

Injuries in Picher

Ooten said at least 150 people suffered inuries ranging from scratches to more serious problems. More than 30 people were taken to Integris Baptist Hospital in nearby Miami, Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. George Brown said. Of those, more than 20 were treated and released.

The last time such a strong tornado, then rated an F3 on the scale previously used by the weather service, hit Ottawa County was in 1980. Four people were injured.

In 1956

In spring 1956, an F4 twister tore through Ottawa County, Kansas and Missouri near Joplin, injuring dozens.

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