ANDOVER, Kan. (KAKE) – “I wanted to raise my kids here. I am on an acre and a half in Andover, Kansas with a pond in my front yard. It’s never going to be the same.”
Right now, it’s hard for Garrett Owen to find a smile, but you can see one on the faces of kids belonging to friends and families.
“The tree is probably coming down, and the swing will, too. We will see what happens when we rebuild,” Owen said.
His swing was mangled at the top of a nearby tree after the tornado destroyed his property. He brought it back down and hung it back up.
“I just can’t believe it,” Owen says. “The odds of it coming right here and hitting my house.”
Owen wasn’t home when the EF-3 tornado devastated his Lakeview Heights neighborhood, but he was on his way there when it hit. He got home, and couldn’t find his dog. He eventually found her nearby, but she’s not the same.
“She won’t come out of my truck. She’s a pup, still. She’s normally playful and running around,” Owen stated.
He had lived in his Andover home for three years before the tornado struck.
“I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know where I’m going. I really didn’t sleep after the storm,” he said.
Even though the shock hasn’t really worn off, he still feels the support of people around him.
“My work has been tremendous. My coworkers, it’s been amazing, the amount of support,” Owen said.
His friends have even put up a warning sign for any potential looters who might look to take advantage of the situation to steal. It says, “Smile, because you’re on camera!”
And the kids helping out are smiling too, but for a different reason, because it’s all they can do.
“I have my kids and my dog and all of my neighbors. It’s what matters.”
If you’d like to help Garrett with expenses, please visit his donation page here.
