"Tornado victims still struggling in Monson; Last June’s freak tornado thundered through tiny town in a matter of seconds. Eight months later, getting back to normal still seems a dream" by Rachel Roberts | Globe Correspondent, February 19, 2012
MONSON - This has been a winter of discontent for many victims of the tornado that carved a 39-mile path of destruction through Western Massachusetts on June 1, killing four people and damaging or destroying nearly 2,000 homes and businesses in more than a dozen communities. Though they’ve been touched by the outpourings of support - from Governor Deval Patrick’s visit to the region last June to the man who used to hand out barbecued chicken on Bethany Road - most victims are far from getting their lives back.
Long after the Red Cross and other emergency service providers went home, the storm goes on for the victims. From disputes with contractors to government red tape, victims of the tornado are navigating a bureaucratic maze that, for some, is nearly as dispiriting as sifting through the rubble of their homes after the 160-mile-per-hour winds blew through town....
“I’m still paying the mortgage on a house that isn’t here.’’
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Related: Globe Tracks Tornado Through Town
