Staff & AP reports

It was a storm week for the South and Midwest, with tornadoes hitting parts of Missouri and Harrisburg, Ill., early Wednesday morning, and more tornadoes striking Kentucky on Friday.

In western Kentucky on Wednesday, an EF2 tornado with maximum speeds of 120 mph carved a 26.5-mile long path through Ballard and west McCracken counties, as well as Massac and Pulaski counties in Illinois.

The tornado crossed the Ohio River in its path. In all, the tornado injured four people and destroyed four mobile homes, as well as damage to barns and outbuildings, as well as minor damage to other homes.

Harrisburg was devastated, with six people dying in the storm and around 100 people injured.

Friday’s storms left western Kentucky with little damage, but the eastern part of Kentucky was hardest hit. At least four tornadoes, three with wind speeds up to 160 mph, destroyed small rural towns, killing 19 people. The storms also hit small towns in southern Indiana like Henryville where a high school was destroyed and the roof was ripped off a middle school. School buses were reported to be protruding from buildings. The storm system also created damage in Tennessee and Alabama.

With more severe weather expected throughout the spring, discuss emergency planning with your family and ways you can stay safe in severe weather.

Empty Bowls project raises $21,200

The Empty Bowls Project, a fundraiser taking handmade, hand-painted clay bowls and selling them full of soup to help benefit a local charity, surpassed its fundraising goal of $20,000. Organizer Michael Terra said the event, held Feb. 25, raised $21,200 to benefit the Community Kitchen.

Teen of the Week

Shain Ross is the Mid-Continent University Teen of the Week. Ross, a senior at Mayfield High School, is a member of the state champion Mayfield football team, making it to the state finals in Class A football three years in his career. Ross maintains a 4.0 GPA and juggles part time jobs. He plans on attending college at the University of Louisville to study chemical engineering to eventually become a pharmacist.

In May, a Teen of the Year will be chose from the weekly winners who will receive a four-year scholarship to Mid-Continent or a $2,500 scholarship if the winner choses another school.