By: Joe Strupp For Jack Pate, publisher of the Evansville (Ind.) Courier & Press, Sunday's surprise tornado turned Monday's newspaper delivery effort into something of a family affair.
While the deadly tornado that struck the Evansville area Sunday did not blow the roof off of the local daily, it did knock out production power for a while, forcing the paper to delay its deliveries by up to two or three hours.
The late production meant that dozens of the paper's 400 adult carriers, who normally drop off papers between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m., could not get copies until hours later. For many with full-time jobs, the delay meant they were unable to make deliveries this morning, Pate said.
The scramble for delivery folks forced Pate himself to take over a 160-house route, while both of his children -- out of school for the day due to post-tornado closures -- were sent hawking copies at a local mall.
"I was out helping to deliver papers," said Pate. "I couldn't get into a lot of areas because of the National Guard." He said at least eight other Courier & Press employees had taken on delivery duties.
Pate said his 14-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son, whose school had been canceled Monday, were selling papers at a nearby strip mall and had sold some 150 copies in three hours.
The 66,000 daily circulation morning paper increased its press run by about 10,000 for single-copy sales, Pate said. He also noted that a 16-page special section on the tornado was inserted Monday.
At least 15 of the paper's 68 newsroom workers were on the job early Sunday to cover the tornado, which so far has been responsible for 22 deaths, Pate added.
"We were very fortunate that no one was killed or injured from our staff," Pate added. "Some of our staff had damage to their homes, but nothing serious."
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