Spavinaw Residents Make Progress After April Tornado

It's been one month since a tornado swept through the small community of Spavinaw, in Mayes County.

The trailer home that was on top of Mike Dollard's house last month is now in pieces next door.

"They just come by Monday and picked up all the trees and everything," Dollard said.

Next on Dollard's agenda is to fix his roof.

"I think it's all coming back together. Everyone is getting back to where they were," Dollard said.

Debris is still in trees at a nearby mobile home park.

4/19/2013 Related Story: Spavinaw Begins Cleaning Up Tornado's Trail

The Squirrel family is one of three families whose trailer is uninhabitable.

"We've been staying at my parents' house, because we can't stay in there. Been dealing with it the best we can," said Stacy Squirrel.

At Spavinaw School, the kindergarten class prepped for their graduation ceremony Friday, while tiles are still missing from the gym ceiling.

From a surveillance video, you can see the moment the tornado struck the school. Parts of the roof start falling and debris is flying.

"The kids are really resilient. They're just happy to be back in school and we get to finish the year," said Principal Christine Midgley.

The high winds also ripped off the office roof, leaving behind water damage. Now, the staff is working in the computer lab.

"It's a mess. We're all crammed in that one room together, but that's okay," Midgley said.

Outside, there's a dramatic difference. Just last month, the building's roof was intertwined with the playground equipment.

Now, all of that is clean, but the roof still needs to be fixed.

"The architect and insurance adjusters were here looking at it again. We're just kind of in a holding pattern right now," Midgley said.

Although the tornado left it's stamp on Spavinaw, people there say it helped bring the community together.