Governor and Mrs. Robert bentley survey Athens tornado damage
ATHENS – Governor Robert Bentley toured the site of destruction at the Athens mobile home park where 2 residents were killed in yesterday’s storm. 
Bentley and his wife, along with a cadre’ of State, County and Local first responders, walked through the devastated Billy Barb Trailer Park, about 8 miles west of the downtown. the destruction was pretty complete, and the Governor and Mrs. Bentley were visibly taken by the scene.
The tornado shelter on the property where over 80 residents were saved from the tornado.
Over 80 residents were saved from the storm by a tornado shelter that was on the property. Owner Barbara Smiley told Bentley that she and her husband went door-to-door to tell their residents to hurry to the underground shelter. Most of the folks complied. “We tried everything,” Smiley said. “We begged them to come.” Dorothy Jean Hollis, 60, and her son, Carlton Earl Hollis, 33, turned down her pleas to retreat to shelter. They paid with their lives.
Barbara Smiley,owner of the trailer park, gives details of the storm to Governor and Mrs. Robert bentley
Governor Bentley got the story directly from from Barbara Smiley. Here’s the video of their meeting:
