His house is barely still standing.  His granddaughter’s car is smashed beyond repair.  The trees in his yard have been violently uprooted from the ground.

In a setting of such destruction, it would be easy for anybody to find themselves slipping into a state of despair… but not Courtney Allen.

Following Sunday’s severe thunderstorm that left many portions of Guthrie County badly bruised and battered by a tornado, the 86 year-old Allen, a Lake Panorama resident, is in remarkably good spirits given what he and his family are going through.

“I am very happy right now because we didn’t get hurt.  That’s hard to repair… when somebody dies, you’re dead; when somebody gets blood and hurt, it’s sad… we have none of that.  Then my granddaughter said ‘I’ve got some kids coming from school’, and 30 kids showed up to clean up this house, clean up around this house.  Frankly, I cried… I’m crying again… I mean that’s beautiful.”   

Panorama students, families and area residents were at Allen’s home near Lake Panorama’s Sunset Beach all day yesterday, helping to cut wood and remove debris from his property.

Overwhelmed by this outpouring of support he and his family have received in the aftermath of Sunday’s storm, Allen explains the true root of his current happiness.

“I live in Guthrie County for one reason and only one reason–it is the best damn county in the United States.  We take care of our own here, we have a county home out here that is so beautiful taking care of people, we have a great hospital, and the people as you can see are wonderful.  All I can say is we’re sure lucky to live here.”

To hear more from Allen as he recaps in full detail what it was like for he and his family to brave Sunday’s intense storm, tune-in to today’s Let’s Talk Guthrie County on K107 during the 9am, noon and 5pm hours.