OAKLAND CITY, IN (WFIE) -
A strong storm heavily damaged parts of Oakland City last week and Saturday night, it's residents come together to raise money, as many homeowners affected, continue to rebuild.
Those 14 News spoke to Saturday in Oakland City say the rebuilding effort is exceeding their expectations, and they say they are especially grateful for the neighborly support they have received, as well as support coming from outside of the community.
At the end of July, Oakland City was hit by a severe storm that ravaged homes and other structures all across town.
"We had significant hail damage. Damage to the aluminum siding and damage to the gutters," said homeowner Dianne Rasco. "Pretty much the whole house was just kind of, 'Oh my goodness. What do we do?'"
A town stunned by a storm, some residents claim has never been equalled in Oakland city history, victims here have turned to home repair contractors and city officials for help.
"I'm a project manager with Aspen Contracting," said Matt Armstrong. "What we do is, we're one of the largest storm restoration teams in the country. And we're in this community trying to rebuild them to pre-storm condition."
Trying, and succeeding, according to one client we spoke to Saturday. Dianne Rasco says her roof was severely damaged following the storm, built that the aid of Aspen Contracting has quickly alleviated her worry.
"As you can see, they came back this morning and stripped the roof completely off," Rasco said. "And it has a brand new roof on it now, it's almost done. They've just kind of took over and have been absolutely marvelous, absolutely wonderful."
Aspen also spent the day serving up free burgers and hot dogs to those in need, just as the local Lions Club served food to town repairmen during the initial clean-up.
Mayor Hugh Wirth says this is the kind of support Oakland city needs. Which is why the town also held a parks department fundraiser Saturday, during the annual hog roast.
"Really, there is a common bond with people in dire straits like this," the mayor said. "And we just appreciate all the help from all departments. Everybody that was a part of this, we just truly thank for all the work that's been accomplished, so far."
Mayor Wirth said another reason for the Saturday's festival was to simply give the relief effort a break. He says, what remains of the mess, will be cleaned up early this week.
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