"It's good to see – this is how government is supposed to work," Brown said of progress being made in the Six Corners neighborhood.
View full sizeU.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., left, and Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, went on walking tours on Friday of some of the areas in the Old Hill section of Springfield that were hit by the June 1 tornado. Here they make their way down Beech Street.SPRINGFIELD – As U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., walked up Clark Street on Friday inspecting tornado damage, a toy car was flipped over in the gutter.
It was the only vehicle on the street.
Four weeks after the June 1 tornadoes, Clark Street looks like backdrop for a war movie – almost every home is gutted, every tree ripped from its roots or twisted into impossible shapes.
But touring the Maple-High/Six Corners neighborhood with Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, the senator also saw signs of progress amid the devastation – construction crews working on homes, trucks hauling away brush and logs, neighbors hauling debris from yards.
“It’s good to see – this is how government is supposed to work,” said Brown, who first visited the area hours after a tornado blew through the neighborhood of older one-and two-story homes near Elias Brookings Elementary School.
Brown said the damage caused by the June 1 storm was so extensive, the full cost of recovery might not be known for another year. “Every time we open up a house, or tear off a roof, the price goes up,” said Brown, who planned to inspect storm damage in Sturbridge on Friday afternoon.
Sarno expressed gratitude for the federal government’s prompt response, noting that local, state and federal agencies were working well together.
“In one word, synergy,” Sarno said.