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June 11, 2008

Gays Mills, a ghost town?

Future of village uncertain in wake of latest flood The villages of Soldiers Grove, Gays Mills and Steuben are engulfed and under water and it is unknown what the future holds after flash flooding throughout the Kickapoo Valley Sunday night and Monday morning.

"I don’t know if they’ll be able to save the town this year," said Gays Mills resident Dee Migdal as she surveyed the flood from an overlook on Highway 171 Monday afternoon. "It’s too close together. It’s not even a year apart. It was really hard for people to come back last year. Now we’ve lost the town."

Gays Mills Mayor Larry McCarn concurred, saying that the whole Kickapoo Valley is devastated.

"No, I don’t think so. Many will not be coming back," said McCarn regarding the future of the village. "It’s not going to be the same. It’ll be a big loss. Businesses won’t be coming back either. They took a big hit. We’re going to become a ghost town."

McCarn said that the levee was breached at Soldiers Grove and that the Highway 14 Bridge is closed. Approximately 50-60 homes have been affected in Soldiers Grove.

McCarn also went on a flyover of Steuben early Monday morning with Crawford County Sheriff Jerry Moran. Emergency personnel, residents, and inmates from Crawford County Correctional Institution were busy sandbagging in Steuben at that time in preparation for the flood that was coming their way.

McCarn said that a three-foot-high and three-bag-wide sandbag wall had been constructed in an effort to help hold off and divert oncoming waters. The rising water broke through the wall and flooded Steuben. Efforts to sandbag homes and businesses failed.

"The amount of water was just way too strong," said McCarn.

Crawford County Conservation Warden Mike Cross said that Gays Mills is under 6 to 9 feet of water, depending upon the location within the village. By Monday afternoon, the water level had appeared to stabilize and either was not rising or was rising very slowly, said Cross, who had been monitoring the water level as part of his deployment.

"Mother Nature is something," said Cross, regarding the whole flood and damage situation in Southwestern Wisconsin and Northeastern Iowa. Cross said that on Sunday night, he was on the Mississippi River helping to retrieve a 1,000 gallon LP gas tank that had floated downstream on the Upper Iowa River and into the Mississippi. The leaking tank had been swept down from Dorchester, Iowa.

Mayor McCarn said Monday afternoon that there was nothing much left to do in Gays Mills except to monitor the situation and to hope that it does not rain again. The water is much too high and dangerous to let anyone back in. McCarn said that clean-up efforts may be days away from beginning.

Swirling currents are extremely swift in parts of the village, especially along South Gay and Main streets.

McCarn said that it is much too early to ascertain total damage estimates. Relief from FEMA will also be sometime in coming. Governor Jim Doyle toured several ravaged areas throughout Southern Wisconsin Monday and has declared 30 counties to be in a state of emergency.

The 625 residents of Gays Mills were evacuated by 2:30 a.m. Monday and McCarn said that it may be several days before they will be able to return.

The Kickapoo River is expected to stay above flood level for several more days, according to the National Weather Service. In addition, floodwaters could be increased again by storms late Thursday and early Friday.

Virtually all roads in Vernon, Crawford and Grant counties were closed by Monday or early Tuesday. Many sustained heavy damage in places. Highway 131 near Wauzeka is under water and numerous other county roads remain impassable. Highway 60 between Wauzeka and Boscobel was closed at about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The Kickapoo River is predicted to crest at 20.8 feet in Gays Mills, 1 foot above the record flood stage, according to the National Weather Service.

A 9 p.m. curfew is in effect for the communities affected by the flood and is being enforced by State Law Enforcement.

Emergency Operation Centers have been established at the Gays Mills Fire Station (608-735-4863), the Soldiers Grove Fire Station (608-624-5933) and the Steuben Community Building. A Crawford County Public Shelter has been established at North Crawford High School (608-735-4318).

Power and sewer outages are affecting the flooded areas.

There was an incident on Highway 131 when a motorist went around a barricade into floodwater and became stranded. Fire and Law Enforcement had to make a rescue, which took away from flood responsibilities and endangered lives, according to an Emergency Management report. The public is urged not to go around any barricades.

In Vernon County, Ontario, Hillsboro, La Farge and Viola were hard hit. Anticipating more danger, authorities evacuated residents below 13 high-hazard dams that were in imminent danger of failing after more than 9 inches of rain over the weekend.

The bridge over the Kickapoo River in Readstown was flooded and traffic had to be rerouted.

Flood damage in Vernon County will likely exceed the $60 million in damage caused by the August 2007 floods, officials said Monday.

The Grant County Highway Department has estimated $200,000 in damages to county highways. This figure does not include costs from townships, villages or cities.

Numerous mudslides were reported in the Bagley area Monday, but the village did not receive any more flooding. Five Bagley area homes and one commercial storage building were flooded on Thursday, June 5 due to heavy rain.

Rendezvous in its 33rd year

Prairie du Chien Villa Rendezvous returns for a 33rd year this weekend, beginning Thursday, June 12 and closing Sunday, June 15. As usual, there will be food, demonstrations, and activities to interest people of all ages.

The camp, located on St. Feriole Island, opens to the public at 9 a.m. each day, and closes at 9 p.m. Ongoing demonstrations of such skills as blacksmithing, weaving, fiddle playing and story telling will take place each day. Other specially scheduled events include:

Thursday, June 12

5 p.m. service for deceased members and opening ceremony

Friday, June 13

3 p.m. women’s games*

5 p.m. women’s and children’s knife and hawk contest*

6 p.m. primitive cooking contest;* Jaycees street dance

Saturday, June 14

7 a.m. Jaycees pancake breakfast

8:30 a.m. rifle range open for practice

9 a.m. black powder competition begins at rifle range*

1:30 p.m. knife and hawk competition*

4 p.m. primitive bow shoot*

5 p.m., pie auction

7 p.m. Jaycees street dance

Sunday, June 15

9 a.m. worship service

10 a.m. children’s games*

4 p.m. Rendezvous ends

This annual event is sponsored by the Big River Long Riles and the Prairie du Chien Jaycees.

Note: Participation in events marked with * is open only to registered campers. The events are, however open to the public for observation.

Jentz, Blake head River Ridge Class of 2008


*Brianna Jentz*	*Zelda Blake*

Brianna Jentz, daughter of Thomas and Julie Jentz of Bloomington, has been named River Ridge’s 2008 Valedictorian. Not only is she at the top of her class, she is also involved in Student Council, jazz choir, Friends Helping Friends, drama, pep band, forensics, Biology Club, National Honor Society, jazz band, yearbook, and 4-H. Brianna’s future plans are to attend UW-Platteville and pursue her interest in English literature and history.

Zelda Blake, daughter of Dan and Jean Blake of Prairie du Chien was named the 2008 Salutatorian. In addition to being an outstanding student, she has been involved in volleyball, softball, dance, Friends Helping Friends, Biology Club, National Honor Society and Art club. Zelda’s future plans are to attend Loras College and pursue a degree in radiology.

June 9, 2008

Devastating flood again

Flash flood forces evacuation of Gays Mills

"We’re totally underwater," said Tresa McCarn from the Emergency Government Command Center in Gays Mills. "It’s already higher than it was last year and it will get higher." McCarn, the wife of Mayor Larry McCarn, said that the Kickapoo River is expected to crest on Wednesday. Water is already past the Royal Bank in Gays Mills.

Soldiers Grove is also completely flooded, said McCarn.

Gays Mills has been evacuated and nobody, except emergency personnel, is being allowed in. McCarn said that residents and emergency personnel began sandbagging at 6 a.m. Sunday. Residents were told to sandbag, get their things and get ready to evacuate. All residents were evacuated by 2:30 a.m. Monday. Some were taken by boat.

McCarn said that some residents went to relatives’ homes and many others are at North Crawford High School, which is being used as an emergency shelter.

Sandbagging went on all day Sunday and early Monday morning, but has now ceased because the water has risen too high and everything has become inaccessible.

The Red Cross, Salvation Army and the National Guard were on their way to Gays Mills and Soldiers Grove Monday morning.

Nearly all roads in Vernon and Crawford County have been closed. McCarn said that Delamater Road is the only way out of Gays Mills.

McCarn said that the flooding is devastating, but that nobody has been injured. "Everybody is out and everybody is safe," she said.

Monday morning, Emergency personnel were going into houses and rescuing pets and medication that had been left behind.

"It’s devastating but everyone’s holding it together," said McCarn about the evacuated residents. "There’s a lot of hard feelings though. This town hasn’t been completely put back together yet and it happens again. This is very tough."

The Wauzeka Fire Department and other emergency crews were sandbagging in Steuben Monday morning in anticipation of flood waters from the Kickapoo River.

As of Monday morning, the river was expected to crest at 20.8 feet in Gays Mills. Flood stage is 13 feet. More rain is in the short-term forecast. The river is expected to crest at 15.6 feet at Steuben on June 13. Flood stage at Steuben is 12 feet.

The Wisconsin River at Muscoda is expected to crest at close to 10 feet on June 10. Flood stage is 9 feet. The Mississippi River at McGregor is expected to crest at 15.6 feet June 12. Flood stage is 16 feet.

Governor Jim Doyle has declared at state of emergency for 29 counties, including Vernon, Crawford and Grant.

The flash floods of Aug. 19, 2007 flooded about 75 homes and forced the overnight evacuation of the 625 residents of Gays Mills.

Rain causes flash flooding in Bagley

Homes, roads, fields damaged throughout Grant County

Five homes in or near the village of Bagley were surrounded by water early Thursday morning due to flash flooding caused by rain. Three of the homes are in the village and two more are in the River of Lakes Resort.

Residents reported rising water at approximately 4:30 a.m. Thursday following four inches of rain that fell during a relatively short time span.

The residents were checked up on but the village was not evacuated, said Julie G. Loeffelholz, the Deputy Director of Grant County Emergency Management.

"It could have been much worse," said Loeffelholz, who noted that about seven inches of rain caused the severe flooding of July, 2007. "They (Bagley area residents) were very lucky."

The flooding was again caused by debris that washed into and clogged a culvert under the railroad tracks so that the water couldn’t flow out into the Mississippi River.

Loeffelholz said that the homes had several inches of water in their basements and that one home sustained damage to some insulation, which will need to be removed. She also noted that several items in a commercial storage building sustained damage.

"We (Emergency Management) will maintain a presence in Bagley until there is a return to a semblance of calm," said Loeffelholz, who noted that sump pumps and other resources are being provided for residents and that there is a trailer full of sand bags in case more rain and more flooding occurs.

On Thursday, several townships in northwestern Grant County had reported a significant amount of damage to roads and culverts, said Loeffelholz. It will probably be a couple of weeks before monetary estimates are known.

ON MONDAY, after more rain over the weekend, Bagley did not receive flooding but numerous roads and homes were damaged countywide.

"We’ve got a lot of damage," said Loeffelholz Monday morning. "All state highways have some damage. County roads are damaged and township roads are all in critical condition. We’re trying to get them open." Loeffelholz said that almost all roads are impassable or damaged or both.

Loeffelholz said that an emergency operation center has been set up in Lancaster and that Grant County will be attempting to get damage assessments to the state before noon Monday.

Loeffelholz said that the county will be asking for assistance from the state for public infrastructure repair such as roads and culverts.

Governor Jim Doyle has declared a state of emergency for much of southern Wisconsin.

Loeffelholz said that many homes throughout Grant County have sustained damage, including water in basements and driveway damage. Also, farm fields have received heavy damage.

The flooding in the Bagley area early Thursday morning has abated but city officials kept a watch on the railroad bridge and culvert over the weekend. No more flooding has occurred, although the water level did rise under the bridge.

"We really need a week to dry out," said Loeffelholz. "Unfortunately, we’re not going to get that." More rain is expected on Thursday and Friday and Loeffelholz said that village officials and Emergency Management will continue to monitor the situation.

The village of Bagley had just secured a permit on May 29 to clear debris from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service land located on the other side of the railroad track culvert. Debris that had gathered there over the past several years also hampered water from draining into the Mississippi Thursday morning, she said.

The ditch in front of the railroad tracks was cleared of debris about two weeks ago and will now need to be cleaned up again. The village is in the process of cleaning up around the railroad tracks, but will probably need to wait until the ground gets dryer, said Loeffelholz.

"The ground is so saturated that there is nowhere for the water to go," she said. The village has been attempting to find a permanent solution to the railroad culvert problem, but everything takes time, said Loeffelholz.

Also responding to the scene were the Grant County Sheriff’s Department, the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department and Emergency Management, the Wisconsin State Patrol, and the West Grant EMS.