President Bush honored the people of Greensburg, Kan., as models of compassion and resiliency after a killer tornado almost wiped the prairie town off the map a year ago yesterday.

"The tornado tore apart the beams and boards that held your houses together, but it could not break the bonds of family and faith that hold your town together," Bush said yesterday at the commencement address for 18 seniors in the Class of 2008 at Greensburg High School.

The agricultural community in southwest Kansas is turning tragedy into triumph, he said. New homes are under construction, utilities are restored, and the town's water tower, smashed by the twister, is back in operation. As it rebuilds, the community aims to become the "greenest," most environmentally friendly town in the country.

The two-mile wide twister, the single deadliest to strike Kansas in 16 years, destroyed more than 900 homes and demolished almost all businesses. Eleven people were killed and 50 injured.

"Ninety-five percent of the community was wiped out in 20 minutes," Steve Hewitt, 35, the city administrator said in a telephone interview. Bush surveyed the damaged town five days later, offering federal help.

Despite the praise from Bush, there's a downside to the town's efforts to recover. Half the town's 1,400 people have left, many because their $30,000 to $80,000 homes would cost $100,000 to $200,000 to rebuild. They left even though the Federal Emergency Management Agency, provided $69 million in aid, and insurance companies paid $153 million in claims.

Many people in Greensburg work for $10 to $12 an hour, good wages there. But they can't afford $150,000 homes. Many people are still living in government-supplied trailers.

The City Council has decreed that, henceforth, it's going "green," requiring all city-owned projects -- City Hall, the town museum -- to meet industry-set environmental design standards. That means recycled building materials, recaptured rainwater, and electricity for the town from renewable sources, such as solar panels and windmills.