Residents Assess Storm Damage in Vinton

By Angie Holmes, Reporter

Tools

By Aaron Hepker

Story Created: Jul 12, 2011 at 12:10 PM CDT

Story Updated: Jul 12, 2011 at 12:10 PM CDT

VINTON – In her 92 years, Arlene Andrew has never experienced anything like the storm that ripped through Benton County early Monday morning.

”You never know from day to day,” she said as she picked up pieces of debris around her house. Strong winds ripped the two-stall garage from her house and leveled it. “Tore it right off,” she said. Her car was in the garage, but didn’t receive much damage other than some scratches. She was more upset about her two trees which were mangled with her clothesline and a full-size soccer net from the field across the street. ”I had that hard maple brought from the farm 31 years ago,” she said.

With all the destruction surrounding her, she was surprised she slept through the storm. She was up at 4 a.m. but then went back to sleep. When the storm came through about 4:30 a.m., she “must have gone into a deep sleep.”

After the storm passed, her neighbor, Darren Salger, pounded on her door to check on her. She didn’t hear him until he was standing in her bedroom asking if she was OK. ”Thank God nobody was hurt or killed,” she said.

Members of the Keystone Volunteer Fire Department cleared trees from streets. They had been working throughout the country clearing roads.

At Kiwanis Park, across the street from the Braille school track and soccer field, strips of green sheet metal from the Thiesen’s store on the other side of Highway 218 were wrapped around trees and playground equipment.

A set of bleachers from nearby Wes Obermueller Field landed in the Kiwanis Park parking lot.

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