Greensburg residents find ways to watch documentary on town

? Greensburg will be back in the national spotlight this week when the tornado-ravaged community’s rebuilding efforts are featured as part of a multiweek documentary.

But residents won’t be able to view the 13-part documentary chronicling the town’s recovery from their own televisions, because the city doesn’t have a cable service. The show premieres at 8 p.m. today on the new cable network called Planet Green.

Planet Green plans to help them out by inviting the whole town to the Greensburg school gymnasium today for a Father’s Day barbecue and screening of the first episode.

Co-produced by actor Leonardo DiCaprio, the environment-focused reality series “Eco-Town” has chronicled the town’s rebuilding. The show has been slated to help launch Discovery Communications’ new “Planet Green” network.

The tornado that flattened Greensburg raged at 205 mph, spanned more than a mile and a half and killed 11 people. An estimated 95 percent of the town was leveled.

Mayor Bob Dixson said residents won’t stress about the possibility of missing the show.

“We’re used to a little inconvenience around here,” he said. “We’ll find a way to watch it.”

Planet Green has had film crews in town since July 2007, following residents as they move from temporary trailers to new homes, covering city council meetings and shadowing families as they make the difficult decisions.

“Our film crews have been here so much and fell in love with the townspeople so much that they kind of feel like they are part of the town too,” said Timothy Kuryak, a vice president for production development at Planet Green and a producer of the series.

Planet Green is working with cable affiliates to figure out how everyone in the area can see the series.