Mo. National Guard Continues to Help in Tornado Zone
By: Jennifer Penate
Updated: May 18, 2012
Sawing fallen trees and raking debris.
A job that started on May 22nd ,2011 is still going at full force.
"There's still a lot of work that needs to be done," says Lt. Aaron Garbet with the Missouri National Guard's Task Force Phoenix which is leading the debris clean-up effort .
150 soldiers first arrived in the area after the destructive storm to help Joplin and Duquesne recover.
15 soldiers still remain.
"They're a prime example of what a citizen soldier should be," says Garbet.
"It feels great, this is something I can take with me forever," say Frederick Givhan.
Givhan and his fellow soldiers are working hand in hand with the state's Disaster Recovery Jobs Program.
Today, they led a group of workers to tackle their biggest project yet...a 100 acre lot in Duquesne with tall brush and trash that poses a fire risk.
"This is just the first step into the whole 100 acres that we have to do so there's a lot of work to be done still," says Lt. Garbet.
Task Force Phoenix has helped clean 3,000 public and private lots so far.
And their work here isn't done. They plan to keep cleaning for another four months.
