Touchdown in Jumpertown
Published Sunday, March 16
By Angela Storey
For the Daily Corinthian
JUMPERTOWN -- T&T Grocery on Highway 4 West at Jumpertown was destroyed by a storm early Saturday morning in Prentiss County. The store is owned by Trent and T.J. Moore. Trent Moore, who is also mayor of Jumpertown, said he was walking out the door of his home around 6 a.m. to go to the store to make biscuits when he heard a tremendous racket and hail.
"The power went off," Moore said.
When he did arrive at the store it was only to find the store's roof was blown onto a barn located directly behind the store. As he stood surveying the demolished store, Moore observed, "It could be worse. An hour later we would have had a house full of coffee drinkers." Jumpertown's store has been a focal point in the community for many years, having been originally built in the mid-1960s, he said. "It'll be a little while but we'll be back," said Moore.
Six horses were in the barn owned by Charlie and Christie Smith when the store's roof landed on the barn. All of the horses are okay, although one named "Chipper" did receive a slight leg injury. But that also could have been worse, Christie Smith said.
"Chipper's stable was caved in. The only place not crushed was where he was standing. We're just blessed to still have him," she said. The Smiths themselves were also blessed to have not been injured. Smith and her husband Charlie live in a doublewide trailer near the Jumpertown store and had gotten in their truck headed to the carport of the house next door during the storm.
"It was hailing really loud and I was praying really loud," she said. Then the truck was picked up. "I'm positive we did two complete circles," she said. "I thought my husband was doing donuts but he wasn't. I've never been in nothing like that before."
Prentiss County Emergency Management Director Ralph Lauderdale said officials from the National Weather Service in Memphis were headed to Jumpertown Saturday morning to evaluate the situation to determine if the damage was from a tornado.
Lauderdale said a call was received from a Jumpertown resident at 6:05 a.m. Saturday who said he could see a tornado.
Crossroads United Methodist Church, located near the store at Jumpertown, received damage to its porch, said Bro. W.C. Alexander, church pastor. "It wiped out the front porch top," Alexander said. "The steeple was damaged and will have to be replaced probably. A lot of the roof will have to be torn off and repaired because of structural damage. But there was no interior damage or no water leaks. Bricks on the front of the church were pulled off when the porch top was ripped away. "All in all we were blessed it happened when it did ... on one with a scratch on them," he said. "Not a stained glass was scratched. It's just one of God's mysterious ways."
He said the congregation would be worshiping at the church Sunday. "It needs some attention but it can serve its purpose until repairs can begin."
The pastor called attention to the church sign that was not damaged. The sign states: Christ can turn your setbacks into comebacks. "So we will come back. It's pretty appropriate," he said. Other storm damage occurred in Prentiss County Saturday morning at Mississippi Cabinet Company on Highway 145 North at Frankstown where major roof damage was reported.
Owner Don Spivey was out of town when the damage occurred, but his father, Herbert Spivey of Baldwyn, said the roof on the northeast end of the building was blown off.
The remaining roof has some holes a foot in diameter and smaller holes punched in it from where the roof "cart wheeled" over the building, he said. "There was probably a good bit of wiring damaged," Spivey said. "The natural gas had to be turned off because it ripped a heater out -- it's just gone. It's a wonder it didn't catch fire."
The business builds kitchen cabinet doors for cabinet shops in a 50-mile radius. A lot of the work in progress was ruined and there was water damage to plywood building materials, he said.
Prentiss County 911 also received reports of trees down on CR 5031, Hwy. 30 east, CR 3321, CR 3011, Baldwyn and Altitude areas. Power lines were also reported down on CR 3321.
Emergency responders at Jumpertown were first paged out at 4:32 a.m. after two vehicles hit a tree in the road. No injuries were reported.

Return home