Mt. Carmel holds drive

A steady flow of traffic through Mt. Carmel’s parking lot Wednesday didn’t mean the medical center saw an overflow of cases.
Instead, many drivers were there to drop off food, blankets or goodies for those who were victims of a recent tornado across the Oklahoma border in Picher and Quapaw, Okla.
“We’ve seen a steady stream, probably from about 6:30 this morning on,” said Paul Lyle, KKOW radio station general manager. “It’s pretty amazing, especially for something with this short of notice.”
The radio station teamed with Mt. Carmel to collect items through the day Wednesday, and Chris Kelly, Mt. Carmel director of community relations, said the effort was a successful one. Kelly said the Salvation Army estimated that the drive took in about 7,000 pounds of goods, with an estimated value between $15,000 and $18,000. That didn’t include any financial donations.
“That’s pretty good for less than 24 hours,” Kelly said. “It really shows you what kind of place we live in.”
Lyle said the radio station and Mt. Carmel received plenty of help — Pitt Plastics donated the use of a trailer, while the Red Cross and Salvation Army supplied volunteers and helped to allocate what was received.
Together, they collected full pallets of food, piles of blankets and tools for those whose items were lost in the tornado.
“A lot of these people, it’s unfortunate to say, have little or nothing in their lives right now,” Lyle said. “I’m just amazed at the hundreds of people who came out like this to give to people.
“We’re very grateful to the community and the concern that they show for their fellow neighbors,” Lyle said. “I’m not from Kansas, and I haven’t been here very long. But people in this area, they open up their hearts to people in trouble. It’s great to see.”

Kevin Flaherty can be reached at kevin.flaherty@morningsun.net or by calling 231-2600 Ext. 134