George W. Bush salutes Kansas town
GREENSBURG, Kansas (Reuters) - President George W. Bush saluted a graduating high school class and its small town on Sunday for rebounding from a killer tornado that ripped apart its homes, businesses and churches but not its faith.
"We celebrate the resurgence of a town that stood tall when its buildings and homes were laid low," Bush said in commencement address to Greensburg High School's 18-member graduating class.
"We celebrate the power of faith, the love of family, and the bonds of friendship that guided you through the disaster," said Bush, marking the first anniversary of the twister that left 11 dead, dozens injured and roads lined with rubble.
Bush is greeted with boos and sneers in much of the United States because of the unpopular Iraq war and ailing economy.
But in Greensburg he was greeted as a returning hero by residents appreciative of his relief efforts on their behalf. Hundreds of flag waving towns people lined the route of the presidential motorcade. Some held signs reading "thank you."
Five days after the tornado hit on May 4, 2007, Bush visited this farm town in Middle America amid complaints that his decision to send National Guard equipment to Iraq had hurt state disaster efforts.
Bush brushed off the criticism back then, hugged and comforted residents and ordered federal aid rushed in.
In doing so, he avoided a repeat of the botched 2005 relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and neighboring Gulf Coast communities.
An estimated 95 percent of Greensburg was destroyed or severely damaged in the tornado, including more than 900 homes, businesses, schools, a hospital, and a power plant.
"When someone suggested that you leave town, you refused," Bush told senior class president Jarrett Schaef. "You said, 'I hadn't found nearly enough of my friends, and I wasn't leaving until I had."
With about $20 million in federal aid, plus state assistance, Greensburg has been busy building and upgrading homes and businesses with energy-efficient materials.
Its population has been cut in half to about 700. But many are living in outskirts in mobile homes, planning to return.
The high school managed to reopen a few months after the disaster with the help of portable classrooms. With facilities destroyed, its teams played all its games on the road.
Bush noted that caravans of town folk traveled with the teams to provide support, with its basketball squad reaching the state tournament for the first time in 30 years.
"The basketball team ... along with all your other school teams ... gave this town a reason to cheer," Bush said.
"The lessons that you have learned in this town will give you the strength to rise above any obstacle in your path," Bush told graduating seniors.
"I call on you to take this spirit forward and help build an America that is as resilient as this community and as courageous as its people."
((thomas.ferraro@reuters.com; 202 898-8391)
