Vilonia residents reflect on one-year storm anniversary

VILONIA, AR - "It's depressing, but you know, it's time to move on," Survivor Roger Ramsey said.

Three generations of Ramsey's lived in this house, which dated all of the way back to 1948. At least, they did, until one year ago today.

"This house just shook,” Ramsey said. “I mean, it shook real bad."

Ramsey, his wife and daughter waited out the storm in the bathtub.

"I was thinking good grief, this probably going to be the end of it,” Ramsey said. “I really did."

Ramsey and his family survived, but Sandy Towles with the non-profit Vilonia Disaster Recovery Alliance says he's one of more than 600 homeowners in Vilonia to go through this.

"95% of Vilonia is back to normal or better,” Towles said. “Then you still have that 5% of the people that are struggling to get back."

That's an encouraging statistic for many out here, given all of this damage from just one year ago.

"We're gonna be 100% before we stop," Towles said.

The Vilonia Disaster Recovery Alliance is planning a spring clean-up for still-damaged parts of the city - and they're looking for volunteers. They can be reached at 501-796-2708.