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A sign from the Sunoco station was found miles away in Troy.
The storm caused about $750,000 worth of damage to the station, owner Dave Closey said as he and other businesses observed the anniversary of the damaging storms.
“The pumps were $20,000 a piece, four pumps damaged, $80,000,” he said. “The business internally from what I understand … I had coverage on that.”
The south canopy of the business was $35,000 to replace
The process of rebuilding has taken it’s toll on him, Closey said.
“This is my life,” he said. “Been here since 1977. I’ve been with Sun Oil since 1963. That’s a long time to be with one company,” Closey said. “I can’t even put it into words … I buried my mother. I buried my father. I buried my sister, and this is just, wow.”
RELATED : Clark County businesses clean up after tornadoes cause damage
Officials said the tornado first touched down on the western side of Park Layne, where damage also occurred to some trees.
RELATED : Clark County business still cleaning up from tornadoes
Four other tornadoes were confirmed from the storms around the region that day.. One hit a mobile home park in Medway. An EF-0 touched down in Fayette County and another hit Warren County. One was also spotted near Piqua in Miami County.
Closey’s rebuilt station includes a new larger canopy and updated technology.
The Mel-O-Dee restaurant repaired its air conditioning system and remolded the inside. Woody Childers, general manager of the restaurant, told this publication business has been good.
Staff at both locations commemorated Thursday’s one-year anniversary of the massive storms with T-shirts. “I survived the tornado of 2017,” they read.
“We survived. The business survived. People survived. My co-workers survived. Park Layne has survived. You know, the Mel-O-Dee is working . I am working. So, we are all happy,” Childers said.
Closey dropped the price of gas to $2.39 to mark the day. That was the price per gallon when the storm hit last year. The community has been good to him he said so he is trying to pay back them back.
Closey said the whole process has been stressful and he wouldn’t want to go through it again. “A year of not sleeping. A year of thinking of what I need to do today,” he said. Next time, he would just write a check and get a bulldozer, he said.
The Springfield News-Sun provided extensive coverage of these storms and the impact on the local communities.
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