Help Clean Dexter Neighborhood Today

More volunteers, especially chainsaw mechanics, are needed today to help clean areas of Dexter damaged by a tornado that hit the community.

The efforts are being organized by Canton resident Nancy Malone, founder/president of Hands of Light in Action, a non-profit group that provides "hands-on" assistance to people in need after natural disasters.

She said Sunday volunteers are being asked to meet at 9 a.m. in the back of the Carriage Hill Subdivision, located at corner of Timberhill Court and Horseshoe Bend. It's important that volunteers report that they are volunteering with the Hands of Light in Action organization or they could be turned away by police, she said.

Malone said people just need to show up and the group will put them to work. In an email to Dexter Patch, she wrote: "They need long pants, light long-sleeved shirts, sunscreen, gloves, chainsaws/goggles, pick-up trucks and chains, thick-soled shoes, a heart and lots of energy!"

Teenagers ages 14-16 must participate with a parent or guardian. Younger volunteers will not be accepted.

The opposite was true on Saturday as about 30 young people - some as young as 6 - were among the 80 people who showed up to help. It was a show of solidarity as nearly all the volunteers were from Dexter, Malone said.

Students cleaned the common areas of a neighborhood near

Malone said all volunteer work in that area is now complete and the rest will be done by insurance companies.

Along with cleaning, students got a lesson on disaster relief as members of the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Marine Animal Resue and Dexter police described their roles, Malone said.

The National Weather Service confirmed that the tornado that touched down in Dexter traveled for more than seven miles over about 30 minutes and at its strongest had maximum wind speeds of 135-140 mph.

Here is a gallery of pictures from Saturday's clean-up submitted by Malone.