The new city manager in Stratford began the job with his challenge clear. Travis Cook was hired the day before the central Iowa community was hit by a tornado on November 12th. Cook says two months later, his community’s rebounding from its loss. He says some private homes are being rebuilt and “it’s nice to hear the sound of hammers.”
Cook says they’re beginning the healing process, and the city’s clearing away debris so it’ll be ready to start doing more when spring comes. Cook praised the efforts of Stratford residents who got right to work cleaning up after the fatal storm.
He says between the date he was hired and the time he was to begin the job, there was a two-week gap…and in that time, after the storm hit he couldn’t believe how much had already been done cleaning up.
The community pulled together and showed they cared about their fellow citizens and living there in Stratford, and that’s what struck him the first day he was “on the job,” in December. Cook was featured speaker at this weekend’s annual meeting of the Stratford Community Development Corporation. The tornado that hit Stratford was later upgraded to an F-3 by weather experts who investigated its path from Boone County into Stratford and as far northeast as Williams.