Banner Graphic, Volume 20, Number 304, Greencastle, Putnam County, 30 August 1990 — Page 1

Banner Graphic Greencastle, Putnam County, Thursday, August 30. 1990. Vol. 20 No. 304 35 Cents

Most power restored asstorr egins

By ANGIE HOWLAND Banner*Graphic Staff Writer About 70 electrical work crews from throughout Indiana converged on Greencastle Wednesday and worked throughout the night to restore power to most customers. By dark Thursday, power should be restored to all Greencastle customers, PSI representatives told the city administration. THE TORRENTIAL “downburst” a technical Weather Service term for a huge gushing force pushed down out of a thunderstorm to rush along the earth’s surface and flatten everything in its path which exploded early Wednesday morning over Greencastle cut nearly all electricity to the city and to several outlying areas. According to Dana Moses, district manager for PSI Energy, twothirds of Greencastle lost electricity. Crews from Carmel,

Church, home fires keep firemen busy

By ANGIE HOWLAND Banner-Graphic Staff Writer After about a week with no calls for help, the Greencastle Fire Department was bombarded with emergency calls Wednesday after a torrential rain and windstorm damaged much of the city. Downed power lines and lightning were the primary cause for three major fires which destroyed the Greencastle First Presbyterian Church and a residence on Washington Street and partly damaged a second Washington Street home. THE 111-YEAR-OLD Presbyterian Church, located at 110 S. College Ave., caught fire about 4:30 a.m. when a bolt of lightning struck the bell tower. The back of the tower exploded and set the main structure a blaze. Additionally, a section of the roof was blown off the building and into the street. GFD did not have a total damage estimate of losses but said the sanctuary was a total loss.. Firefighters worked 14 hours at

City will collect limbs from curbs as possible

There will be curbside collection of tree limbs within city limits, Greencastle officials said Thursday, asking residents to have patience while more-press-ing needs are attended to this week. Anyone physically able to saw up and remove limbs from his property is asked to take them to the old industrial park, located along the east side of First Street, just south of the Southern Highway route. THE CITY STREET Department will use a chipper to pulverize the limbs into mulch at a later date. Those who cannot truck the limbs there may place them curbside so as not to create a road hazard, city officials said. Street Commissioner Jim Wright said Thursday morning that he had called for the assistance of two tree trimmers and

The calm after the storm

Fair and pleasant overnight with low in die low 60s. Mostly sunny and mild on Friday with high in the mid to upper 80s. Indiana Extended Outlook: Saturday through Monday. Partly sunny Saturday with high in the upper 80s and low in the mid 60s. Partly sunny Sunday with high in the upper 80s to low 90s. Lows in die mid to upper 60s. A chance of thunderstorms on Monday with high in the up* per 80s.

Kokomo, Bedford, Sullivan and Plainfield were called to the stormravaged city to assist in the cleanup effort and restore service. Additional tree-trimming crews and engineers came to assist WORKERS HAD TO replace broken poles and downed lines a section at a time. This was a very tedious and time-consuming task, Moses said. “We had to set up a systematic plan and be very cautious because if the workers are not careful, they could energize a line that other workers were working on and we could get into real problems,” he said. Power was restored section by section as the crews got the poles and wires hooked up. “We’re really in pretty good shape considering the magnitude of the storm.” At 2:10 a.m. Thursday, power Col., 3, Back Page, this section

the scene until the fire was completely ouL They did not leave the church until 6:30 p.m. Wednesday evening. ONE BRIGHT NOTE, however, was the basement of the main structure was saved and the Sunday School addition, located at the back of the church was untouched. GFD CapL Bill O’Brien said the Sunday School wing was saved because of a barrier between the two sections and concrete in front of the stairway. “The fire kept trying to spread but we were able to contain it because of the barriers,” he said. The basement suffered water and smoke damage but will still be usable, O’Brien said. FOUR FIREFIGHTERS were sent to the hospital. Mike Burgess, David Varvel and Mike Long were all treated and released from Putnam County Hospital for heat exhaustion. Cloverdale Volunteer Firefighter Kenny Gerlach stepped on a nail and was also taken to PCH. Col., 6, Back Page, this section

two large chippers to assist in tree removal from city right-of-way. The city is responsible for trees located between the curb and sidewalk, he said, noting that every effort will be made to remove damaged trees from such locations as soon as possible. Indiana Department of Highway crews helped remove the downed trees and limbs in several areas Wednesday, including clearing Washington Street of debris. BUT AS FAST as highway personnel cleaned up, residents dragged more limbs to the curb. Those limbs will eventually be removed as well, city officials stressed, but efforts are being made to give exposure to all parts of the city during the storm clean-up rather than making repeated trips down the same streets.

Index Abby A 3 Calendar A 3 Classifieds AB,A9 Comics A 6 Crossword A 9 Heloise A 3 Horoscope A 9 Obituaries AlO People A 6 Sports A6,A7,A8 Theaters AlO

jfijL 4i; ■ * If y.. ty* _•> • w * Bal ™ t

Indiana Department of Highways workers clear a path along East Washington Street Wednesday afternoon after a savage wind and rainstorm lashed the City of Green-

Nazarene Church damage SIOO,OOO

By LISA MEYER Banner-Graphic Staff Writer When members of the Church of the Nazarene meet for services on Sunday, they may have an unobstructed view of heaven above. High winds from Wednesday’s early morning storm caused more than SIOO,OOO damage to the church, the Rev. Leßoy Davis told the Banner-Graphic Thursday. Davis said about a third of the structure’s roof was blown off by the winds, but most of the damage occurred to the classroom area. “THE SANCTUARY is not that damaged,” he said. “The educational part had the primary damage.” More than 20 church members and volunteers turned out Wednesday to work on debris removal, he Continued on Page A 6

Business as usual? ‘Whopper’ of a sales day for Burger King, Gould’s

By JOE THOMAS Banner-Graphic Assistant Editor While most of Greencastle was plunged into powerlessness Wednesday by a violent thunderstorm that rocked the area, anyone with electricity made money. By a quirk of Wednesday morning’s downburst, Putnam Plaza and Gould’s Market were among the few businesses in town with electricity during the day. Burger King manager Cathy Emmons said Wednesday’s busi-

Oh, baby, will Wilsons

BY ERIC BERNSEE Banner-Graphic Editor How about a heart-warming story with proud parents, a bouncing baby boy and a happy ending. Man triumphing over nature. The miracle of childbirth vs. the wrath of Mother Nature. Makes you want to shout: “Film at 11, doesn’t it”? SUFFICE IT TO SAY, Wesley and Elena Wilson of Greencastle will never forget the arrival of their first-born son. Benjamin Wesley Wilson came into this world about 9 a.m. Wednesday at Hendricks Community Hospital in Danville. Some hours earlier, however, Wes and Elena thought Mother Nature was taking them out. Like many Greencastle area residents, the Wilsons headed into the darkness of their basement about 4:30 a.m. as torrential rain, savage winds and holy heck was breaking loose all around them. But there was a kicker at their 624 E. Washington St. address. ELENA WILSON HAD gone into labor about 3:30, although that was nothing new to her husband. She had been having pains for a couple of days. “They really became intense when the storm

castle. City, state and utility crews worked around the clock to restore power and order to the town. Miraculously, the city es-

I ■■■■

ness was a sales record for the Putnam Plaza restaurant She said a normal day sees between 800 and 900 customers come through the doors. Wednesday, more than 2,000 customers came in wanting it their way. “IT BEGAN AT 6 a.m. when we opened and it didn’t stop,” Emmons said. The crush began with just two employees ready to serve breakfast. And they couldn’t even count on quick help from their boss.

Daze Work

hit,” proud papa Wes said of the labor pains, admitting he was still a bit skeptical of an impending blessed event. When the house wasn’t all that began to twitch, however, they began to realize this might be the real thing. Emerging from the basement about 5:30 a.m„ they called her doctor and realized they had two options: Call an ambulance if emergency personnel weren’t tied up (which they undoubtedly were), or try to drive to Danville themselves. “WE THOUGHT WE could make it,” Wilson, best known as DePauw University’s archivist, said.

“I live at the Old Hospital Apartments and it took me 50 minutes to get to work,” Emmons said. “I would go down one street and it would be blocked, so I would go down another street at it would be blocked.” She finally arrived at 4:50 a.m., and she didn’t leave until 8:15 p.m., some 1516 hours later, she said. BUT SHE WAS NOT the only place working long hours to please large crowds. Gould’s Market, 705 S. Jackson

remember this storm

*- w

caped apparently without serious injuries. (Banner-Graphic photo by Gary Goodman).

Despite not having been moved from its parking place since before Wednesday morning’s storm, the wheels of the Greencastle Nazarene Church van rest atop pieces of the church’s roof. Apparently the force of winds estimated at 85100 mph lifted the wheels enough to scoot pieces of roofing under them, Pastor Leßoy Davis said Thursday. (BannerGraphic photo by Gary Goodman).

St., opened at 4 a.m., its regular time, but was open 90 minutes beyond its normal 9 p.m. closing, according to Ron Wells. “It was very busy,” he understated. And the most popular item in stock was coffee, he said. “I didn’t realize how much coffee Greencastle drank,” he said. Demand quickly out paced the capabilities of the four coffee makers usually used at the store. So Wells borrowed two coffee urns Continued on Page A 2

They were smart enough to call the State Police for the best route to Danville and were directed down U.S. 231 to U.S. 40, east to State Road 39 and north to U.S. 36. Sounded easy enough, Wilson thought until he went to the driveway to get the car. Hello, tree limbs and manual labor. “It took me a half hour to clear the drive,” he said late Wednesday afternoon upon his return to storm-ravaged Greencastle. “I ran right into a telephone line,” he said, able to laugh now, “and about had a heart attack (thinking it was a power line).” DRIVEWAY CLEAR AT last, the Wilsons were able to negotiate the circuitous route in 45 minutes. In fact, once east of Mt. Meridian, they had clear sailing. And that was a good thing. “When we got to the doctor, she was fully dilated and the baby came in another hour and a half,” Wilson said. “I still wasn’t sure about the whole thing until the doctor said, ‘You’re ready now.'” Benjamin Wesley arrived to join sister Sarah in the Wilson household at 7 pounds, 2 ounces and 21 inches in length. You’ll have to pardon us if we feel compelled to anoint him with a nickname. It’s just that “Stormy” has a certain ring to it.