Central Texas construction company lends helping hand to families devastated by severe storms

BELL COUNTY, Texas (KWTX) - A Central Texas construction company owner put his paid work aside this week to help residents hit hard by the tornado and severe weather that followed.

Colton Norman, owner of Branded Acres Construction in Belton, said since he had all the equipment needed, he couldn’t just stand by and wait for those impacted to find help.

Colton and his wife Anna drove around some of the hardest hit areas in Temple shortly after the storm hit Wednesday night and were shocked by the devastation.

“It’s devastating really. It’s awful,” he said. “Cars are flipped over. Buildings are completely collapsed. Roofs are ripped off. It’s terrible.”

Colton, a 2011 graduate of Salado High School, made a Facebook post on multiple Bell County area pages which read “Who needs help this morning? I’ve got chainsaws, tools, tarps for roofs, manpower and trailers. Anything at all. Let me know where I need to be.”

The owner then attached his cell phone number and within the first hour, over a dozen people had reached out for help.

By Thursday night, more than 50 people had asked him for assistance.

“They need everything,” Norman told KWTX. “People’s roofs are blown off and they’re trying to get the spots covered up. There’s trees down everywhere.”

Colton and two of his employees first responded to a woman who needed help in Morgan’s Point.

She had three windows blown out from the storm.

“I’ve gone and picked up plywood and I’ve headed to the first one to get windows boarded up,” he told us around 9 a.m.

Colton and his crew were able to get to eight other homes and assist with everything from scattered debris to holes in roofs.

“We just felt like it was more important to help people today than it was to work,” he said. “So, if you know anybody that needs help, please let me know.”

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