The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (NDCS) Community Corrections Center – Lincoln (CCC-L) teammates worked fast and furiously yesterday evening when the tornado warning went into effect. They followed procedures in gathering and keeping the inmate population safe during the storm. Everyone remained secure and safe.

“When I arrived, I saw what I expected to see,” said Assistant Warden Shaun Settles. “I saw the shift supervisor, Lieutenant Moore in command of the emergency. I saw our teammates responding professionally and Sgt. Casarez and other maintenance staff offering to come back into work to assist.”

CCC-L suffered damage during the storm. Part of a storage area building roof was peeled off, parts of the roof began to leak and four large trees off of SW 27th St. were snapped in half. Once the storm passed, all hands were on deck to help clean up.

“We worked together to make nearly 400 sack dinners to get our inmates fed,” said Sgt. Casarez. “There was a sense of urgency and everyone was focused and worked well communicating to each other of what needed done.”

Twenty-four year NDCS Maintenance Manager Jerry Rotschafer is also a duty officer with Lincoln/Lancaster County Emergency Management. After helping with the public response during the storm, he booked it to CCC-L to help them as well.

“This was good teamwork,” said Rotschafer. “We believe the tornado went right down SW 27th St. next to the facility.”

About 30 members of the public at Pioneer's Park were also able to take shelter at CCC-L when the tornado went through.