Little Rock residents come together to restore the park after the storm

Little Rock, Arkansas – Hundreds of houses and businesses were devastated by a tornado that hit Central Arkansas over four months ago.

Some regions are still removing the wreckage from the March storm, such as Walnut Valley in West Little Rock.
The entire Walnut Valley neighborhood came together on Saturday to trim the grass and pull weeds from a park.

But this goes beyond your standard yardwork.

“Somedays it’s heartbreaking,” Walnut Valley resident Lauren Crutchfield said. “Somedays, we feel so blessed with all the help that comes out.”

Crutchfield and her husband relocated to Walnut Valley in December without knowing that their home would soon be destroyed.

“Two trees had fallen on our house, and we really couldn’t even assess the damage until the next day,” Crutchfield said. “It was unreal.”

The neighborhood park is unrecognizably different from before the storm, while houses still lack roofs and debris lines the road.

“Every time I drive through the neighborhood, I turn down the wrong street because it doesn’t look the same,” said John Payne, the neighborhood’s HOA president.

The neighborhood took care of the park’s gardening and garbage removal.

“We moved here because of the neighborhood’s legacy,” Payne said. “It’s important to get it back as best as possible. Even better if we can do that.”

Payne’s phone number is (501) 240-9670, and interested parties can reach her by email at payne.wvha@gmail.com.