Tightening copy and finding an angle

Jacob Richey identified and corrected sweeping spelling, usage and style errors and identified a new angle for this story based on new information the newsroom had received that the reporter in the field was unaware of. See the unedited copy from the reporter with Richey’s commentary and reasoning in bold italics under each paragraph, with points of reference highlighted. Then, find the final, published copy from KOMU 8’s website.

Unedited draft

On Wednesday, April 2nd the National Weather Service confirmed a EF-2 tornado that hit Pilot Groove, MO. Residents faced severe damage to their homes and some were without power. The Storm was tracked 6.3 miles and was 200 yards and its widest point. Estimated peak winds were at 120 mph.

I identified a misunderstanding in what the reporter believed their assignment was and updated the story with the new information the newsroom received the day after the tornado. I also addressed major issues in writing quality, including misspellings of the town, county and organizations the reporter was covering, AP style errors and usage mistakes.
At the time of the tornado the Pilot Grove Outdoor Warning Siren failed to operate the first time after it was tested on Tuesday and functioned normally. The city was able to get the siren on the second attempt to warn residents about the storm.

“We do not have an answer as to why it did not function the first time,” said The Emergency Management Agency Director of Copper County, Larry Oerly in a press release on Wednesday.

I removed this quote because it was outdated and inaccurate.
The failure of the first warning siren left some residents to be unprepared. 

“I got a message, but by the time I got it I looked out that I didn't have a chance to go to the basement,” said Pilot Grove Resident Dorthy Vollmer. 

The Vollmer residence is one of the homes that faced severe damage. Dorthy Vollmer and her daughter Alice Vollmer have lived in the home for nearly 20 years. The roof was blown off from the storm and they had the communities assisstant to help relocate to an Airbnb. There current home is unliveable.

Midnight Church in Boonville, and other family members and friends have volunteered their time on Wednesday to help pick up and cleanup the leftover storm debris. 

“I have babysat for 18 years and a lot of those kids showed up here yesterday,” said Dorthy Vollmer. "A group from the Mightnight Church in Boonville have been out here since before I have been out here. It has just been amazing."

Utility crews were seen working on the main power lines. According to the city there are no power outages or concern for the safety of water.

The Copper County Emergency Management Agency had already applied for and received a grant for a new siren in 2024. The City of Pilot Groove says the siren is scheduled to be replaced around the first of May.

In addition to correcting issues with AP style and spelling in this graf, I corrected the erroneous attribution of this information, which came from the county.

Edited copy

A power outage caused the outdoor warning siren in Pilot Grove to fail during a tornado warning Wednesday morning, the Cooper County Emergency Management Agency announced Thursday afternoon.

An EF-2 tornado struck the town just after 8:30 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.

Some residents faced severe damage to their homes, and some lost power.

The outdoor warning siren in Pilot Grove failed to operate during the tornado warning, the Cooper County Emergency Management Agency confirmed. The siren was tested the day before the storm and operated properly, the city said.

Some residents said the siren's failure left them feeling unprepared. 

“I got a message, but by the time I got it, I didn't have a chance to go to the basement,” Pilot Grove resident Dorothy Vollmer said.

The Vollmer residence is one of the homes that sustained severe damage. Vollmer and her daughter Alice Vollmer have lived in the home for nearly 20 years. The roof was blown off from the storm, and they said the community helped them relocate to an Airbnb.

A few community members volunteered their time to help pick up and clean up the leftover storm debris.

“I have babysat for 18 years, and a lot of those kids showed up here yesterday,” Vollmer said.

Vollmer said a group from a Boonville church has been out helping Thursday.

"It has just been amazing," Vollmer said.

Utility crews were seen working on the main power lines. According to the city, there are no power outages or concerns about water safety.

The Cooper County Emergency Management Agency applied for and received a grant for a new siren in 2024. The siren is set to be installed around May 1.

The new siren will operate from battery power with an electric battery charger to keep the batteries fully charged. It is designed to operate during a power outage, the Cooper County Emergency Management Agency said.