Operation BBQ Relief Serves Hillsdale Tornado Victims

0:00It's April 16th. This is Kansas News Today, powered by AI. Clean up crews are pushing hard in Hillsdale, Kansas after Monday nights EF-2 tornado tore through town, damaging 113 buildings, and leaving dozens of homes destroyed. Operation BBQ relief rolled in with volunteers serving 250 hot meals, think pulled pork, green beans and fruit cups, to families picking, up the pieces. This crew got its star back in 2011, right after the Joplin tornado, and they've slung over 13 million meals nationwide since then, hitting disaster zones from floods and hurricanes to wildfires. Folks on the ground say it's gut wrenching to see the wreckage every time, but that simple warm meal hits different when everything's gone. Local director Skeeter Stone, who lives just six minutes away, noted his own place took a hit too, yet the neighborhoods rallying like family. Meanwhile, just down the road in Paola, Wednesday night storms dump heavy hail, punching

1:01holes in siding and shattering car windows for residents. Like Debra Wilson, utility teams have been restoring power since Tuesday amid the mess. With rough weather looming Friday and Saturday, impetus flowing strong. Paola folks feel for Hillsdale's losses while bracing up together, proving, and community bonds speed up the hill.