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Thursday, May 29, 1997

Store manager credited with saving lives in roof collapse

By STEFANI KOPENEC / Associated Press Writer

CEDAR PARK, Texas (AP) - A grocery store manager who spotted a funnel cloud and blared a warning to shoppers on the loudspeaker is being credited with saving lives before the roof collapsed.

Emergency crews sifted through the twisted metal inside the Albertson's store for possible victims of the tornado that hit Tuesday afternoon, but authorities said Wednesday they believed everyone has been located.

Department of Public Safety trooper Tom Mobley said three people were injured at the store, including employee Thomas Huckstein, who was trapped for an hour underneath a roof joist before a rescue dog found him. He was listed in serious condition at Brackenridge Hospital in Austin.

The toll could have been much higher and possibly included fatalities had it not been for store manager Larry Fore, Mobley said.

"Without his cool, quick thinking, we probably would have been attending funerals tomorrow and the next day," the trooper said.

A weary Fore, who led about 20 people into the store's refrigerated cooler at the back of the building after issuing an alert on the public address system, would not discuss what happened, but said, "It was a group effort, I guarantee you."

"They saw (the tornado) at the front of the store and told us all to go back into the freezer," said Raymond Gonzales, an Albertson's worker. "I heard the wind howling. Then the roof caved in. I've never seen anything like it."

The customers and employees stayed inside the cooler about five minutes until the tornado passed and then emerged to find a little over half of the tar and sheet-metal roof on the floor. An air-conditioning unit was ripped from the rooftop and flung three blocks downwind.

"By the same token ... you go over to the vegetable department and all the melons and peaches and apples (are) still just exactly like they were stacked there by the produce manager," Mobley said.

Less than two miles south, residents of the Buttercup Creek subdivision spent the day moving downed tree limbs and fences to the curb and covering damaged roofs. Mobley said about 50 homes were affected by the storm, some with little damage and at least one destroyed.

The neighborhood was abuzz with the sounds of chain saws and tree shredders. Roof shingles littered the streets, and blue, orange and black tarps covered the roofs. A blue sleeping bag hung high from a tree limb.

As the cleanup continued, gawkers filtered into the shopping center parking lot and created long lines of traffic as they glimpsed the force of nature's fury. People who worked at a hair salon next to Albertson's returned to retrieve their belongings and relive the previous day's events.

Betsy Pope, 29, said she watched the disaster unfold from the back door until a co-worker yanked her inside when a power line popped and a train car overturned nearby.

"It was scary. There were things blowing around everywhere," she said. "We were lucky. We share a wall with Albertson's." Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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