Much of the southeastern United States was battered by storms over the weekend, dumping 3.96 inches of rain on Warren County as well as leaving some property damaged and causing power outages.

To provide the community with a sense of security during the stormy conditions, the county opened the Senior Center at Three Star Mall to the public as a storm shelter for the first time.

“We did open our very first county-operated shelter and 37 people came out for that,” Chief of Staff Jason Hillis said during Monday’s Warren County commission meeting. “These were folks who saw it on Facebook and had questionable housing situations. One couple was building a home and living in a camper on the property as they’re doing construction and didn’t feel safe.”

Hillis reported additional individuals lived in compromised structures and one family who came to the shelter had a two-month-old baby with them while others were elderly. Four of the families who took advantage of the offered shelter had just moved to the area and had been here for less than six months. Some, according to Hillis, did not realize the storms were as severe as they were while they were in town and, when their phones went off to warn about the weather, they sought out the shelter.

“They had snacks and popcorn. Some of the kids were on edge and nervous and we tried to have some fun with them and help them relax,” Hillis said. “They were all very, very thankful that we were able to do that.”

The shelter has been recognized by the state and is listed on the state’s website under “Tennessee Shelters”, which can be found at https://www.tn.gov/tema/tennessee-shelters.html.

“When you click on the red dots, it shows you exactly where the address of that particular shelter is,” Hillis explained. “It will link to Google Maps if you have that on your phone, and if you’re driving, it’ll give you turn-by-turn directions.”

The map is available to everyone and individuals do not have to be residents of Warren County to make use of the shelter when it is opened to the public.

“I want to thank Lana and Jason for stepping up and actually opening that up,” County Executive Terry Bell said. “I think that’s something the county needs to expand on and they really did a great job putting that together for us.”