County still rebuilding yr after tornado

GLOUCESTER COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) - April 16 marks one year since a tornado tore through Gloucester and nearby communities, causing severe damage.

The storm left two dead, destroyed several homes and damaged dozens of other structures.

Grace Collins told WAVY.com the tornado sent a tree through the roof  and into the bedroom of her Gloucester County home. The repairs were just recently completed.

"It's only been like three months, but they're done. Everybody was trying to get their roof done. Everybody on this block had terrible damage," Collins added.

Collins said she watches weather reports a lot differently these days, and while she doesn't want a repeat of last year's tornado, she's taking note.

"I'm terrified you know. There are reports of super cells. It's spring. The weather's warm. Those things pick up out in the Midwest. That's what happened here," Collins added.

At nearby Page Middle School, green grass is growing where the cafeteria, band room and labs once stood. A twister took out that part of the building, leaving Page's 600 students to attend morning and afternoon classes at Peasley Middle School.

"Kids are resilient. We would ask kids in the morning, 'How do you feel?' 'Great.' We would ask the kids in the afternoon,'How do you feel?' Great, because we get to sleep in.' They got to know one another. The community again was pulled together," said John Hutchinson, the assistant superintendent of Gloucester County Public Schools.

Hutchinson told WAVY.com plans are in the works to build a new Page Middle School, with completion set for 2014.

The new school will cost $26 million and will be large enough to accommodate future growth in the area.