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By DOUG HARLOW
Staff Writer 11/01/2007

Halloween decorations grace the front yard.

But Logan, 22, a single mother of two children -- one with cancer -- and a third child on the way -- still cannot live in the home since a mini-twister ripped the roof off in the early morning hours of Oct. 20.

All that is about to change today and on Saturday as donations mount and promises of labor and building materials are set to come true.

On the way are enough lumber to build new trusses for the roof, new shingles for the roof, new insulation for the walls, paint and painters, electric work, new floors and new carpeting, according to her father, Dan Logan.

He said the wiring on the older model mobile home still needs to be checked and the work will have to be done in steps.

He said assistance has been coming in from all over central Maine.

"We probably got 40 or 50 calls," said Melissa Markowski, Dan Logan's girlfriend. "Some of them are just calls saying our prayers are with you."

Dan Logan said such an outpouring was not expected.

"There was one gentleman from Waterville; I don't even know his name, but he said he doesn't have any money and he doesn't have any experience in wood, but he'll ride his bike up here to help," he said.

Offers have come in for help cleaning and cooking meals. One 82-year-old woman from Litchfield drove up to the Middle Road home and donated a quilt she had made for the family.

The so-called "microburst" twister hit just after midnight the morning of Oct. 20.

"I was watching TV when all of a sudden the whole trailer just started shaking -- I thought the windows were going to break," Logan said at the time. "I thought it was just a tremendous gust of wind. The fire department called it a microburst -- the start of a small twister."

Jaymie Logan said she feels "special" from all the assistance she has received.

"It makes me feel good to know there are people out there that really care," she said. "I'm getting a lot more support than I thought."

Dan Logan said Waterville City Councilor Steve Aucoin, D-Ward 7, called to help and has teamed up with McCormack Lumber of Winslow to get the trusses up.

The lumber is to be dropped off today. "I never pass up the opportunity to make some help, to do the right thing," Aucoin said Wednesday night. "How could I not?"

Dan Logan said his 2-year-old granddaughter Jaidyn has a rare form of cancer, astrocytoma -- rare tumors of the spinal cord.

"She's got four chemos left -- she had one on Tuesday and last night she was real bad -- throwing up, at the toilet and with a real, real high fever," Dan Logan said. Jaymie and Jaidyn Logan must travel to Scarborough every Tuesday for treatments and get blood tests every Monday to see if the little girl is strong enough for the therapy.

Dan Logan said $1,031 has been donated into the Jaidyn Fund at KSW Federal Credit Union since it opened Oct. 22.

"That's going to be used for the trailer; we're not exactly sure what things at this point," Dan Logan said. "It's in the bank until we know what things. We might have to buy Sheetrock with it if we can't get somebody to donate Sheetrock."

He said all of the family's clothing that was damaged by the rain is being washed at a coin laundry in Waterville at a donated discount.

"There's been some really decent people," he added. "There are awesome people out there. You wouldn't think it by just living every day, but when you really need something it's really out there.

"When we're all finished, everybody's going to get a thank-you card."

Doug Harlow -- 861-9244

dharlow@centralmaine.com

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