By Katie Knapp Schubert
Omaha, NE – The first tornado shelter is complete at the Little Sioux Scout Camp.
The Camp was destroyed June 11, 2008, by a tornado. Four Boy Scouts were killed and four dozen more injured when the tornado leveled the shelter they were in. At that time, the Camp had no tornado shelters. The Ranger's house was also destroyed by the storm. 14 months after the storm, the first shelter is complete, and the Ranger's house re-built.
This weekend, the New York Says Thank You Foundation is bringing a group of FDNY members, financial district employees, 9/11 victims' families, and school children to build a chapel at the Camp. Mid-America Council Scout Executive Lloyd Roitstein says the Council is honored to have 9/11 survivors helping to rebuild the Camp.
The chapel is being built on the foundation of the north shelter, where the four Scouts were killed. The wood used to build it comes from trees at the Camp.
Roitstein says other rebuilding projects are underway at Little Sioux Scout Camp, including a new plaza, entry way, benches, an observation deck and prairie restoration.