WASHINGTON, Ill. (AP) — The sounds of nail guns and saws tell Ben Davidson that Washington is starting to come back. The pastor at Bethany Community Church and others in Washington, Illinois, are measuring progress in small signs that the town is being rebuilt after last November’s destructive tornado.
But just how long the work will take is hard to say. Harrisburg, Illinois, is just now about finished with its work, more than two years after a tornado tore through.
Washington Mayor Gary Manier says he compares his town to others that have been torn apart by big tornadoes.
Manier said of the more than 1,000 badly damaged or destroyed homes, the city has issued more than 600 building permits. But construction was slowed by the harsh winter and for many is just beginning.
