TitleTown campaign receives a boost

PARKERSBURG, Iowa - An Iowa city demolished by a tornado and helped by the benevolence of residents from Parkersburg is encouraging everyone to vote for Parkersburg for ESPN's TitleTown USA.

Parkersburg, Iowa, was struck by a tornado at 4:59 p.m. May 25 that devastated the small northeastern town of 1,900 people. Six people died and 50 residents were injured.

Residents from the city of Parkersburg, W.Va., sent humanitarian aid to the town.

''You guys helped us out a great deal,'' said Leon Thorne, editor and publisher of The Parkersburg (Iowa) Eclipse-News-Review.

Parkersburg, W.Va., is one of 20 cities across the United States that are competing for the title of TitleTown USA, a competition sponsored by ESPN. A TitleTown celebration taped by ESPN on Friday from Stadium Field at Parkersburg High School was aired by the sports network this week.

Voting on the ESPN Web site, http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/titletown/index, started Wednesday. Voting ends Saturday.

Other towns in the competition include Pittsburgh, Columbus and Green Bay, Wis., but Parkersburg and its three high schools have amassed 192 championships in all sports.

''We're going to vote for you,'' Thorne said.

Richard Lance, athletics director at Parkersburg High School, which accounts for many of the 192 championships, was appreciative of the support from Parkersburg, Iowa.

''I was thinking about them last night,'' Lance said.

''Those people have been so devastated by the tornado, that for them to take time out and think about us, I just think that's a great thing,'' he said.

Thorne said he was contacted by Parkersburg, Iowa, City Clerk Gary Hinders on Monday and asked to run an ad encouraging residents to vote for Parkersburg, W.Va. Thorne did a makeover and the ad was inserted in the newspaper despite being printed for publication Wednesday.

The Eclipse News-Review is a weekly newspaper.

Hinders said the city of Parkersburg, Iowa, was behind Parkersburg,W.Va., to win the TitleTown honor. Hinders was in meetings Wednesday with representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Hinders said 260 homes and buildings were destroyed by the tornado and 200 others were damaged.

Hinders said he talked with several Parkersburg, W.Va., area residents who traveled to Iowa to rebuild the Calvary Baptist Church parsonage, which was demolished by the tornado.

Recovery continues, Thorne said. Several buildings and homes have been rebuilt and residents are getting their lives back in order, he said.

''It's going OK,'' Thorne said. ''We've got some positive attitudes.''

The cities competing for TitleTown are Green Bay; Lawrence, Kan.; Pittsburgh; Knoxville, Tenn.; Chapel Hill, N.C.; Los Angeles; Palo Alto, Calif.; Louisville, Ky.; Chicago; Boston; Gainesville, Fla.; New York City; Valdosta, Ga.; Detroit; San Francisco; Williamsport, Pa.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Columbus, Parkersburg and Massillon, Ohio.