Roller skate champion's memory untouched by tornado in Sedalia, Mo.

After a tornado hit Sedalia, Mo. Wednesday the only thing left of The

Wheel Thing Skate Center is a glass case full of memorabilia that serves as a memorial

for Jesse Joe Harrison. Harrison, nicknamed “Dog” passed away

at the age of 17 in a car accident in 1998.  Jesse’s best friend Christopher Homan visits the

memorial in The Wheel Thing Skate Center. “That skating rink was our home.” Homan

said. Harrison’s mother’s house lies on the other side of the rink and was damaged by the

tornado. Homan still continues to think of Connie as his own “mom” and assists her in

the process of rebuilding. 

The Wheel Thing Skate Center is flattened by a half-mile wide tornado that hit on Wednesday, May 25 in Sedalia, Mo. “Its an icon in the town its one of those things you expect to be here” said former skate coach Connie Koch.  

The only thing left of The Wheel Thing Skate Center is a glass case full of memorabilia that serves as a memorial for Jesse Joe Harrison. Harrison, nicknamed “Dog”  passed away at the age of 17 in a car accident in 1998.  Jesse’s best friend Christopher Homan visits the memorial in The Wheel Thing Skate Center for the first time after the tornado hit. The two were skating partners. “It wasn’t all about speed it was all about fun,” Homan said. Homan quit shortly after Harrison’s death. “It was my whole life growing up,” Homan said.

Homan still remains an integral part of Harrison’s family. He stands in Harrison’s mother Connie Koch’s driveway looking at the surrounding damage.  Homan came to assist Connie in rebuilding her home. "He helps me because he is a part of what Jesse and Chris and I were together,” Koch said.

Koch and Homan’s girlfriend look at a photograph of a rainbow that arched into the skate center when Homan went to see Harrison’s case. “He has his arms around that case,” Koch said.

Homan’s girlfriend’s daughter peers over Koch’s balcony into the neighbors yard. The Wheel Thing Skate Center is just on the other side of the house. “That rink has been our life. I actually moved here just to be close,” said Koch. 

A pile of skates sits on the outskirts of the rink. “There is not much to do around here you either go to the movies or you go skate,” Koch said. The skating rink was over 50 years old. “This is just an opportunity to build something better,” Homan said.

Homan visits Harrison’s grave in Sedalia, Mo. The gravestone has a Tasmanian devil in roller skates engraved on it. Homan’s tattoo of Harrison’s initials in barbed wire peeks out of his shirt. “The reason I got barbed wire is its tied in a knot. There’s sharp edges on barbed wire. If you try and pull it apart you’re going to get hurt. There’s nothing in the world that can pull it apart and were still together like brothers and I think of him in the same way even though he is not here.” Homan said.