Judge to join Joplin relief convoy: Donations being accepted at public work sites in Oakland

By Jo Mathis Legal News Years ago, Waterford District Judge Jodi Debbrecht would stand on her parents' front porch in Columbia, Missouri, and watch tornados tear through the area. Within hours, she and her family would help clean up the mess. So when a tornado ravaged the city of Joplin last month, Debbrecht knew she had to do something. "Seventy-five percent of this community had been completely destroyed in about nine minutes," said Debbrecht, a judge at the 51st District Court . "This town is very similar to other communities. My own community in Waterford could just as easily have been decimated." She contacted Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, who put her in touch with the Main Street Oakland County program and its national network of more than 2,200 cities, including Joplin. The program's manager, Bob Donohue, contacted the mayor of Joplin to find out what was needed most. A relief convoy was soon underway. People can now drop off donations at any of the 11 public work sites in Oakland County. Those items will then be loaded into four semi trucks, which will accompany Debbrecht and Donohue to Joplin on June 16. Debbrecht plans to spend several days there clearing away the debris. "They're not even remotely concerned with rebuilding yet," she said. "The magnitude of the debris is so huge, the mayor said that's going to take at least three to four months to get it all cleared away." Debbrecht said she's impressed with the generosity of local contributors, including the Oakland County Credit Union, which has donated $1,000. When people ask her what she likes about Michigan, she said many things come to mind. "But the number one thing I tell them is that the people are tremendous," she said. "We certainly shared in the prosperity at one time, but the past few years have been tough. And we possess a refusal to lie down. Despite this adversity, we are tenacious. We are a generous region, and I think we want to give some of that sense of community back to Joplin right now -- a community that so closely mirrors ours." "We're reaching out from our Main Street to theirs." Published: Mon, Jun 6, 2011

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