Crete cop: Tornado clean-up ‘good for the soul’

Crete Police Officer Nick Garcia spent part of his Thanksgiving vacation helping in Washington, Ill. Photo credit: Dennis Sullivan./i>

by Dennis Sullivan
editor@ewcnews.com
Dec. 26, 2013

Nick Garcia’s training as a Marine served him well during his recent trip to Washington, Ill.

Garcia, who notches his 10th year as a Crete police officer in January, credits advice from Police Chief James Paoletti and the approach he learned in the Marines.

“We were always adapting and overcoming,” he said of the military experience that included deployments to Iraq in 2004 and 2005.

Garcia said the Marine approach when Option A fails is, “Just look for Option B. If Option B doesn’t work, look for Option C.”

But when Garcia, 33, scheduled a few days off after Thanksgiving, the only option he was thinking of was “doing some things around the house.”

Then a tornado swept through the central Illinois city of 15,134 residents on Nov. 17.

Garcia decided to drive down on Nov. 30 and help clean up after he “saw a couple of pictures posted on line” that showed the catastrophic damage.

“I figured I had the time off and I wasn’t doing anything else productive,” he said.

Water and ravioli
Originally, he intended to load “a couple of cases of water and some ravioli” into his car and drive the 130 miles to Washington, located just east of Peoria.

Based on separate conversations with officials in Washington, Garcia and Paoletti were sure the supplies and help would be welcomed.

Word spread and donations streamed into the police department.

“Pretty much the entire town knew about it and half the town donated” — much too much to fit into his car, Garcia said.

Crete Service Center responded with complimentary use of an enclosed trailer to transport the water, non-perishable food, clothing and other supplies. Paoletti loaned the department’s SUV, which has a trailer hitch, to pull the trailer.

No place to put donations
When Garcia arrived in Washington he learned they still needed his help, but had no place to put the donations.

What was needed was money to help cover immediate costs and short-term expenses.

Garcia tried Option B, the Red Cross. It was, he learned, “full to maximum capacity.”

Recalling the realization that the donations were unwanted, Garcia acknowledges he “got a little panicked.

“I didn’t know how the (donors) were going to feel,” he said.

After brainstorming with Paoletti, Garcia decided on Option C: Return to Crete with the donations, ultimately dropping them off at the Crete Township Food Pantry.

‘It was really crazy’
But first, there was clean up to do.

“All that (frustration) went away when we got out to the site and started working,” he recalled.

How Washington looked when Crete Police Officer Nick Garcia arrived. Photo credit: Nick Garcia.

Garcia said he’d expected to find complete destruction.

Instead he found, “half-houses, houses completely down to the foundation, houses just missing a roof or a couple of walls and houses that weren’t touched.

“It was really crazy.”

Garcia’s team worked eight hours — “as long as there was daylight.

“We cleared five lots in the time we were there, clearing houses down to the foundation,” adding, “We knew what our mission was there.”

The work involved separating items among three piles: home debris, lumber and personal items, he said.

“It was really nice to see everybody come together to help the community out,” Garcia recalled. “The mood was upbeat; it made you appreciate what you had.

“I guess it was good for the soul,” he said.

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Original material copyright 2013 Eastern Will County News; all rights reserved.

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