ROBINSON, Ill. (WTWO/WAWV)– Easter Sunday brought an eerie quiet to the streets of both Robinson, Illinois and Sullivan, Indiana.
For much of the past week, both communities have been working around the clock on managing donations, coordinating volunteers and clearing debris following the tornado that tore the area on Mar. 31st. But Sunday, Crawford County emergency management agency coordinator Brad Midgett said they wanted to give crews a chance to rest for the holiday.
“Today was a day where we asked everybody to kind of take a pause,” he said. “Step back, be with their family, with their friends. Like you said, take that deep breath, unwind after the last nine days.”
Midgett said the Illinois Department of Transportation will close sections of State Route 1 and State Route 33 for portions of this week, as debris removal continues. SR 1 will close from Monday morning to sometime Wednesday, according to current plans, and SR 33 will close from Wednesday to either Thursday or Friday.
Midgett also said a multi agency resource center set up by the American Red Cross on Saturday was a big success.
“That went amazing,” he said. “We had over 40 registered Red Cross cases and applications filled out for individual assistance.We had a few businesses in town come and speak to the department of insurance that was down from state.”
Sunday was also a rest day in Sullivan, but the city did shift its central donation location to the Odd Fellows building located downtown at 26 W. Washington Street. They will lead that effort for the next 90 days. Meanwhile, both the city and county continue to work with volunteer groups that can help residents continue cleanup efforts over the coming weeks.
Midgett said, in Robinson, they are beginning to run out of room for physical donations, and anyone currently wanting to help can contact the Crawford County Treasurer’s Office for information on financial contributions.
Updates on recovery efforts in both communities can continue to be found on their respective local government Facebook pages. Midgett said, after Sunday, crews were preparing to ramp back up.
“Get ready to get recharged and hit the ground running tomorrow.”
