FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam says he is impressed by the resiliency of people whose homes were damaged or destroyed in a tornado that devastated a large swath of Lincoln County earlier this week.
Haslam toured the damage in the rural area near the Alabama line by helicopter on Wednesday, followed by a visit to a heavily damaged school and nearby home.
Wanda Shelton, the county's director of schools, told Haslam that South Lincoln Elementary School has been deemed salvageable. While that work proceeds over the summer, students will share space with another school nearby.
Haslam expressed sympathy to the family of a married couple killed by the storm, and voiced support for those recovering from the destruction wrought by the tornado.