By Toni Riley for The Daily Yonder.
Broadcast version by Nadia Ramlagan for Kentucky News Connection for the Public News Service/Daily Yonder Collaboration

When two massive tornados ravaged rural west Kentucky on the evening of December 10 and the morning of December 11, 2021, aid was immediate. Thousands of volunteers, millions of dollars of donations, and support poured into the counties—many with irreparable damage.

As the families began to pick up the pieces of their lives, many suffered a total loss, including decades-old trees; replacing those trees wasn’t foremost in their minds. But it was for Ashley Short.

In January 2022, Short began formulating an idea to provide trees to homeowners affected by tornados.

“I wanted to do something to help.”, Short said. He had wanted to help locally but found plenty of volunteers already. But trees were something he could do. “

Trees he would grow himself at his Highlandbrook Nursery, and not just a few trees – 4000!

“My attitude toward this comes from my heritage, my parents, and even my Cherokee ancestry. If you take care of the Land, it will take care of you and always leave the world a better place than you found it.” Short said.

Short began by contacting Christian County Extension Agent for Horticulture, Kelly Jackson. If Short grew the trees, could Jackson get them distributed? “Of course,” was Jackson’s immediate response.

Jackson had actually been thinking about trees. Extension Agents in the area attended training on how to provide tornado relief. One training told of a tiny town in Kansas, leveled by a tornado, but when rebuilt, had no tree-lined streets and didn’t feel like home. Jackson thought Short’s donation would help develop that feeling of “home.”

Short would provide native trees, a specialty of his nursery, located on the family’s 1811 farm near Allensville, Kentucky. He selected 21 species, including evergreens, nine different oaks, and perennial favorites, Red Maple and Yellow Poplar. Short also said he liked to think the trees were his footprint on the earth. He wanted to think about what kids would play under the trees and what animals would use them as a habitat.

In March, he purchased the 18-inch seedings, and he and his work team potted the seedings in gallon pots, watered, and fertilized them throughout a hot, dry summer. He estimated he invested about $9000 in the project. 

In August, Short got back in touch with Jackson and said the trees, now 4 and 5 feet tall, were on schedule, however, the total number would be around 3600 due to loss from deer and rabbits.

Jackson contacted Matt Dixon, a University of Kentucky Extension Meteorologist, to determine the specific counties affected by the tornados. There were two lines of tornados running parallel through west Kentucky. The northern path was an EF 4 that devastated communities along a 200-mile line from Fulton County in the farthest western tip of Kentucky to Breckinridge County, about 50 miles east of Owensboro. An EF 3 tornado traveled a path from Trigg County, on the eastern side of the Land Between the Lakes, through Bowling Green into Taylor County in south central Kentucky.

Fourteen of the 21 affected counties responded to the offer for trees, and Jackson set up a schedule to deliver trees during National Tree Week in mid-October. 

Christian County Extension staff and Christian County Master Gardeners’ set out across the state and distributed trees with the help of other University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Agents. Counties received from 650 to 150 trees, and Taylor County received the most. 

Jackson said he knew of no other single individual or business that had donated, such as Ashley Short. He did say the Arbor Foundation in conjunction with other companies, had given trees away in two communities, but not the scope of the Highlandbrook Nursery effort. 

On a bright blue October morning, the old Pembroke School parking lot in Pembroke, Kentucky, filled quickly as Christian County Master Gardeners; Nate Pickens and Frank Amaro set out 250 trees for the town of 650 and the nearby farming community.

Each site replicated this scene, with communities and neighbors coming together. The words thank you, hope, and future were repeated frequently.

Tiffany and Brandon Hilliker, new residents to the Pembroke area, lost several trees on their 5-acre property.

“I love trees,” Tiffany explained as she and Brandon made their selections. “I think there is a spirit about trees, which hold so much history and are important to our future.” 

A young Pembroke Elementary student selected eight red maple trees to plant at her school, so her fellow classmates could enjoy the cheerful red fall color. 

 In Muhlenberg County, Extension Agent for Agriculture Darrel Simpson told of a family who would be planting their trees in memory of family members who died in the tornado. 

“Although the tree program may be perceived as a “service,” It is much more. It is a way to start the rebuilding and healing process much needed by our community.” Simpson added. 

The Southern Christian County Howell community came together at the home of Master Gardener Janie Giles to pick up their150 trees. 

 “It was in therapeutic,” Giles said. “We don’t have a gathering spot, and this was the first time neighbors had come together since the tornado,” Giles noted that many of the people did not know each other, and they talked at length about their experience that night and how they coped. 

Ashely Short was surprised and humbled when he started receiving letters of gratitude.

“I never realized I was touching people the way I did.” 

He received a letter from a family in Mayfield who lost 125-year-old trees on their farm and how meaningful it was to be able to plant trees back for the future generations of their family.

Pembroke Mayor Judy Peterson said the tree distribution was essential for this close-knit community where everyone knows everyone.

“It’s good for the community to come together; getting the trees Is so important. We have been through so much and lost so much. You have to have mother nature – it helps build back and gives us hope.”

Toni Riley wrote this article for The Daily Yonder.


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Concerns about potential voter intimidation have spurred several states to consider banning firearms at polling sites but so far, New Hampshire is not among them.

Only a dozen states and Washington, D.C., prohibit both open and concealed-carry weapons at voting locations.

Emma Brown, executive director of the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said most of the bans were enacted after the 2020 election, when unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud took hold.

"The risk of gun violence at the polls is heightened," Brown contended. "Which means that legislation at the state level is even more critical than it ever has been."

Brown argued America's elections are free and fair, and prohibiting guns at polling sites and government locations is constitutional. Opponents countered the bans unfairly disarm law-abiding gun owners.

Recent surveys reveal election workers have faced increased threats and harassment since the 2020 election with one in three reporting some form of abuse. And nearly half of election workers said they are concerned for their colleagues' safety.

Brown pointed out armed intimidation tactics disproportionately target people of color and add to the growing exodus of election workers.

"This is a threat that we can't ignore," Brown stressed. "These attacks have also served as a deterrent to Black and brown election workers, who've historically been a really key part of ensuring that our democracy endures on Election Day."

As state legislatures consider banning guns at voting sites, legislation in Congress known as the "Vote Without Fear Act" would place a nationwide ban on weapons within 100 feet of a federal election facility, with exceptions for on-duty law enforcement and security personnel. It has been languishing in a House committee for a year.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.

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Nassau County's executive wants to deputize residents who hold gun permits.

County Executive Bruce Blakemen's plan involves training 100 residents for "the protection of human life and property during an emergency." Little else has been made public about the plan but it has been met with widespread opposition and concern.

Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, minority leader of the Nassau County Legislature, said there are many ways it can go wrong.

"Emergencies are very chaotic situations by nature and all of a sudden, someone shows up that a police officer might not recognize or isn't identified correctly," DeRiggi-Whitton pointed out. "We're just waiting for a disaster to happen."

She added some Nassau County police officers are against the plan and, like many others, feel it's unnecessary. Blakeman said he is relying on New York State County Law 655, which grants sheriffs authority to deputize added personnel for emergencies.

DeRiggi-Whitton noted legal options are being pursued to stop the plan from being enacted.

The lack of information has made residents anxious about what the plan would do. Some have said the effort, along with Blakeman's ban on female trans athletes in county athletic facilities, are solutions without problems.

Susan Gotthrer, director of the Nassau Regional Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said more pressing issues need to be addressed.

"We have real problems in Nassau County," Gotthrer argued. "We have housing shortages, we have lack of opportunities, we have education issues, high taxes. We would really like to see Mr. Blakeman putting his energies towards real governing issues and not imaginary ones like this."

Blakeman is not alone in pushing to deputize gun owners. Support for militias is growing among conservative politicians. Some residents are worried the armed people will be used to intimidate voters at or after the 2024 election. Nassau County is considered one of the safest counties, not just in the state but in the nation.


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April is National Volunteer Month, and Nebraskans rank high nationwide for their willingness to volunteer.

In the most recent Census Bureau/AmeriCorps report, Nebraska ranked seventh in the nation for formal volunteering and second for informal volunteering.

However, many nonprofits still need more help.

Central Nebraska Community Action Partnership in Loup City serves 21 counties with programs in housing, early childhood, family outreach and community health. It serves 72 counties with its veterans programs.

Executive Director Cheryl Holcomb said it would struggle to offer these services without volunteers.

"Throughout our agency, it is vital - vital that we have volunteers that provide services as well," she said. "We always have a need for more."

Holcomb explained that for their Head Start programs, volunteers do more than help the teachers and children. Their hours also contribute to the 25% match the program's grant funding requires. Volunteer time is valued at nearly $32 an hour, and most grants count volunteer hours as an "in-kind" match. Nationally, women volunteer at a slightly higher rate than men, and Gen-Xers have the highest percentage by age group.

Like other nonprofits providing food assistance, Holcomb said they've seen an increase in need without an accompanying increase in volunteers. She added that the funding for its Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which serves people 60 and older, isn't sufficient to support the program.

"So, relying on volunteers to help offset that program is crucial," she said. "They rely on volunteers to come in and package the food; they rely on volunteers to make deliveries in the specific community."

Central Nebraska Community Action Partnership also relies on volunteers at its two food pantries, a quarterly mobile food pantry and four food warehouses.

There are nine Community Action agencies across the state. Although their programs vary, Holcomb said, all rely on volunteers.

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