Storm damage cleanup continues
Flint Hill ball field is destroyed
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| RYAN PREWITT PHOTO -- The baseball field in Flint Hill was destroyed by last weekend's thunderstorm, leaving more than 200 children without a place to play ball. |
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The 6-year-old, along with brothers Luke, 10, and Brendan, 12, spent his afternoon clad in shorts, a T-shirt and rain boots. In front of him was a baseball field in ruins.
Just a few days ago, that very field in Flint Hill had been home to more than 200 children on 18 teams. The Flint Hill Athletic Association, a volunteer, not-for-profit organization, maintains the private field to give children in Flint Hill and other smaller communities the opportunity to play ball. FHAA members consider the facility one of the best in the area.But after 9 inches of rain Sunday night, all that changed. Seventy percent of the fencing was down. Two-and-one-half feet of dirt on the field was gone, much of which was replaced by rocks from the parking lot. Mud covered the floor of the bathroom, storage shed and concession area. Debris and puddles surrounded the now uneven ground near the bleachers.
Jack and his brothers saw the damage from a car on their way home that weekend.
What was his reaction?
"Very mad!" he said.
Many in St. Charles County can relate. The slow-moving thunderstorm took everyone by surprise, including the National Weather Service. Meteorologists had predicted sunny weather for the weekend. What came, however, was up to 9 inches of rain, resulting in closed roads, flooded buildings and multiple rescues, particularly near Wentzville and Flint Hill.
Not to mention a whole lot of disappointed children, said father Paul Niggemeier, who serves on the FHAA board and was there to clean up the field.
"This is a small community, and everyone always comes together to fix problems like this. But looking at the extent of the damage, it would take a whole summer if everyone had to pitch in," he said.
Wentzville Assistant Fire Chief Austin Worcester called the scenario bizarre. In 20 years of living in Wentzville, he had never seen this type of flooding, he said.
The Wentzville Fire Protection District received 58 calls for service in 24 hours, starting with Sunday's lightning storms early in the day. More than 16 motorists had to be rescued from floodwaters in the Flint Hill area, and at least four homes had structural damage. One home was completely swept away and landed atop a PT Cruiser. The homeowners already had evacuated, Worcester said.
Businesses took a hit, too. Flint Hill City Clerk Melissa Burton said Tuesday that six businesses were flooded by the storm and two suffered major damage: Amerigas, a propane company, and Sandbox, an outdoor sand volleyball business. Portions of Highway 61 and Grothe Road were quickly shut down, and by late Wednesday afternoon, a section of Highway P still was closed. City officials planned to contact the St. Charles County Emergency Services Association later in the week, Burton said.
Wentzville police kept busy directing traffic on flooded roads, said Capt. Kevin Pyatt. Most of the flooding was on Peine and West Meyer roads, along with Allen Street, Pearce Boulevard and the area near Highways 61 and A. About 30 residents contacted City Hall to report flooding in their homes, he said, and City Hall's basement also had been flooded.
The most damage seemed to be at Progress Park, 968 Meyer Road. The facility's gymnasium and banquet hall were flooded, so much so that 2 feet of drywall and insulation in the banquet hall will have to be replaced. Silt and mud covered the floors and parking lot, and three parks department vehicles were submerged in water up to their windows. The park's 50-meter swimming pool also was filled to the brim.
"If you'd have put a finger in it, it would have gone over," said Park Director Mary Jo Dessieux.
Dessieux and several other park officials were at the park surveying damage and cleaning from Sunday night until 3 a.m. Monday. By 10 a.m. they had called the entire park department staff and a list of volunteers to help with the cleanup. The group hosed off the parking lot and playground, and also cleaned debris from the 8-foot-tall baseball field fence, 100 feet of which was knocked down by the storm. An emergency management company arrived Tuesday to begin cleaning the indoor facilities. Dessieux estimated Thursday that the cleanup to date will cost the city more than $30,000.
Residents in Wentzville and Flint Hill are moving forward. St. Paul, Josephville and Moscow Mills have all offered baseball fields to Flint Hill players, and Wentzville parks department programs are being rescheduled.
All they need now is a little patience, Dessieux said.
"We're doing everything we can to turn it around and make it better," she said.
