UPDATED: Storm destroys Girard business; no reported casualties

 

BY MARCUS CLEM  |  HOMETOWN GIRARD

A significant thunderstorm on the evening of April 26 did not cause any significant injuries or deaths, but wreaked significant property damage.

“Denco (Aluminum, 109 E. Southern Blvd.) is gone,” said Julie Smith, executive director of the Girard Area Chamber of Commerce.

A large portion of the building has been torn away from the main site and carried into a line of trees. The Girard Animal Hospital, 207 E. Southern Blvd., owned by Dr. Bill Morland took indirect blows from thrown pieces of the Denco building, but does not seem to be significantly damaged itself.

USD 248 Girard classes were cancelled on April 27 to protect children from the legacy of the storm.

“That was a call they had to make,” said City Administrator Chris Weiener. “There was a safety component factored into it. There were multiple downed lines across roads. We wanted to protect children who might be headed to school until we could get those cleared away. It was a dangerous situation.”

The school district later announced damage to the Girard baseball field and said scheduled home games against the Southeast Lancers on April 28 and the St. Mary’s Colgan Panthers on May 2 will instead be played at each opponent’s home field.

The storm also destroyed a standalone structure on the property of Chris and Amy Johnson, 257 S. 140th Street.

 

 

Power remained out in most of residential Girard as of 11 a.m. April 27. Workers prioritized infrastructure before businesses and businesses before residents in restoring power based on the limited manpower availability. Weiner said even with this plan the city would’ve been in a bad way without significant help from neighbor communities.

“We’ve got Chanute and Arma here as well as Pittsburg,” Weiner said. “We’ve had tremendous support from all of them. We’re extremely grateful for that.

“We hope to have power completely restored within the next 24 hours.”

Weiner has requested aid from Americorps volunteers to help residents clean up their yards, as most residents have at least a minor issue with downed trees and limbs.

“If our residents can, please take limbs to the dump (1150 E. 700th Ave., Arcadia),” Weiner said. “Hopefully Americorps will make it here tomorrow to assist private residents with cutting trees, collecting debris from yards and hauling it to the dump. If residents could have whatever items possible collected in one place for hauling by Americorps, this would be helpful.

Reached by phone in Springfield, Missouri, National Weather Service meteorologist Jene Hatch confirmed reports of regional damage.

“This could have been straight-line winds, but we can’t rule out a tornado,” Hatch said. “As damage reports continue to come in, a survey team will head to the area.”

Weiner said as of 11 a.m. April 27 that the city also is awaiting a full cause-of-damage assessment.

This story will be updated.