Hurricane Dolly (2008) were destroyed with hundreds more damaged, and the storm surge caused many boats to be brought onshore, some into homes. The Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, declared 14 counties in South Texas a disaster area. Insured property damage estimates are near $525 million (2008 USD) with total property damage estimates (based on a 2–1 ratio of total damage to insured damage) near $1.3 billion (2008 USD) in the state (with a large proportion of the losses being agricultural), and the Rio Grande cotton crop was expected to be a complete loss. After weakening to a tropical storm, Dolly spun off
Sennett and Bertha Kirk House the Deaf in Jacksonville, Illinois and then in the Kansas School for the Deaf in Olathe. Bertha Mellen Kirk was a member of the Congregational Church. Sennett and Bertha Kirk's first child, Leta was born November 19, 1903. Another daughter, Bertha, was born January 4, 1906. A son, Sennett Kirk, Jr., was born September 14, 1909. Because of their wealth, education, and social connections, the Kirks were influential in the local Garnett community. Sennett Kirk's father, the Hon. Lester K. Kirk, was elected on April 4, 1870 to be the first mayor of the city of Garnett when it was