Shawnee Businesses Thankful For Minimal Damage Following Tuesday's Storms

More severe weather had its sights on Shawnee last night. City leaders said damage was minimal, which is good news for businesses still recovering from tornado damage earlier this year.

Another wave of severe weather in Shawnee was a cause for concerns for businesses still rebuilding from storms several months ago.

“You have that fear that you're not going to dodge another bullet so to speak, but we did. Everything here was safe and sound when we showed back up,” Natalie Keith said.

But luckily for Northside Veterinary Hospital, there were only a few rips in the tarp and broken two-by-fours.

“It could've been so much worse,” Keith said.

Keith said this doesn't compare to what she's seen a storm do.

“Our tornado happened the day of our 13th birthday,” Keith said.

The tornado ripped through the main building of the hospital.

“The back half of the building is literally gone as in don't know where it went. And then we lost our roof,” Keith said.

Since the tornado in April, they've been operating out of their boarding facility. Mayor Ed Bolt said that's the story for so many businesses. 

“There was so many power poles out and power lines in the street there was just no getting up this way as you can see there's been a lot of progress,” Bolt said.

He's thankful last night’s storm didn't set them backwards. He said many businesses have reopened. He believes 20 are still closed.

“Every day more and more are opening,” Bolt said.

“Bolt is hoping to have all of the traffic lights fixed by the end of next year. He said just for one intersection it costs a million dollars.

“Shawnee is going to back stronger than it was before. We're very resilient here,” Bolt said.

“So for us, we didn't ever want the tornado or the storm or the damage we sustained to impact who we were or what we are here to do,” Keith said.

Keith said there's no amount of damage that can stop them reopening. In fact, they're rebuilding their main building in the same spot.

“Our hope is that we will have our grand reopening on our 14th birthday,” Keith said.