Mena, Arkansas Hit By Tornado

FOX 16 - Little Rock ^ | 4/09/2009 | FOX 16

[America2012]

FOX16 is getting reports that a tornado has hit downtown Mena. There are reports that the courthouse took a direct hit and the downtown area has major damage.

We do not yet know about injuries in this area.

FOX16 is working on getting more information and will bring it to you here and on FOX16 News.

[DCBryan1]

I’m in Little Rock and its heading right for us. Since Kringtong’s Library looks like a trailer, its a natural magnet for tornados.

[Don Corleone]

at one point we were about 25 miles from Mena. I remember hearing airplanes all night long.

It was a big drop off for drug smuggling at one time. Don't know about now.

[kms61]

this was a few years after it was in the news as a drug smuggling hub, but that airport was still busy.

[MamaB]

A newspaper site said Nat’l Guard troops have been called in to guard downtown Mena. Gas lines to Mena and surrounding areas have been shut off. 25 blocks have power failure and 12 injuries have been reported.

Troopers and local police were checking neighborhoods house to house to check for injuries.

A state trooper was in his car when it was hit. He was in the middle of it. Wow. Glad he is ok.

[al baby]

Stay safe

[TomGuy]

CBS 5 Ft. Smith TV evening news reported that downtown Mena took a direct hit.

Walmart, court house, hospital were damaged.

Two tornadoes. One formed in Oklahoma and was up to a mile wide, so allot of damage will be seen tomorrow. The area mostly rural, with some small towns. This tornado may have passed in the northern portion of Mena. It was followed by a 2nd tornado that developed and hit the downtown area.

National Guard are on duty. Emergency/fire crews in various area towns have been put on alert. Mena requested that utility co shut off gas. Allot of debris is blocking roadways throughout the area.

No reports (at this time) of any deaths or injuries.

[Califreak]

I got peeps there.

Hope they’re okay.

[isom35]

there’s a cocaine joke in there somewhere....

[Texas Fossil]

Terry Reed is the author of “Compromised: Clinton Bush & the CIA”

I purchased my copy 2 weeks after it was released, 3 months into the Clinton Administration. One heck of a read. It was all credible, but there were some accusations about George H.W. Bush on the cover that were simply not true.

A friend of mine that did 3 tours in SE Asia, during Vietnam War gave me a statement that he had been on the base in Thailand that Reed described. My friend was in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. (Unlike John Fnnn Kerry he was actually there)

A lawyer neighbor from my time in OK read the book and he stated that after reading the book, he understood why some things he overheard in his law office took place. They dealt with the Iran Contra investigation.

Terry was the Guy that Slick Willie and his Arkansas State Police tried to frame with insurance fraud.

Book also deals the Barry Seal and his assassination.

Very Very good book. Opened my eyes to a lot of things that went on, from the time of the Iran Contra episode to the end of Slick Willie’s term.

[America2012]

What do you call a twister snorting coke in Mena?

A high wind.

[tang-soo]

Terry Reed was the Rosetta Stone of the Clinton Conspiracies.

Originally recruited by Oliver North, while in the USAF, he helped train Contra rebel pilots during and set up a home-grown manufacturing plant in Little Rock to make off-the-record machine guns. It did that in facilities owned by Seth Ward (Webb Hubbel's father-in-law)where he manufactured parking meters (company was name Park-O-Meter).

All this was done at the behest of the CIA. He crossed lines with Barry Seal and others eventually exposed in the Iran-Contra deal.

Later, when the CIA was supposed to have wanted him to become involved in the cocaine end of this deal, he got out and fled to Mexico. L.D. Brown, former Clinton security detail man, was also recruited by the CIA and again wanted him involved in the cocain biz. He got out, but not before he was order by them to go Mexico and kill whi they said was a traitor. The story is that he had Reed in his sights, then saw him with his family and couldn't do it. He too left the agency.

Reed's book lists others you can tie to the Clinton thread, Dan Lassater, Rose law firm, the Stephens Brothers, I thin Tyson Chicken, Charlie Trie.

I had a signed copy of his book, "Compromised", but I foolishly loaned it to a local radio talk show host who "lost" it. Still burning over that.

His story and subsequent law suits to get his name back, (the government nearly destroyed him), was supposed to have been recorded in Time magazine. They ended up doing a hatchet job and lied through their teeth about what really happened. The editor at Time, at that time, was none other than former Oxford University roommate of #42 and eventual undersecretary of State, Strobe (I look forward to the day when every nation bends its knee at a single world authority) Talbott.

I recommend getting the book and reading it.

[tang-soo]

Oh, and I should have pointed out that most of that story took place in Mena.

[this_one_here1]

Too bad Mena is in the Ouachita Mountains and the Ozarks are more than 100 miles away from Mena.

I grew up in Mena and lived less than 10 miles from the airport and sorry to bust your bubble but there was never any more activity than any other airport that size. Sorry Mena is pretty boring these days.

Yes, a tornado did hit Mena. Pretty bad too. My family is ok so that is good!

[kms61]

I call them all the ozarks. And there were a lot of planes flying around that night. Take it FWIW.

[kms61]

and I’m glad your family was unscathed.