Slammed! IKE visits Dexter

According to Stoddard County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director John Prance, some wind gusts early Sunday were in excess of 65 miles per hour.

"The areas of Dexter, Bloomfield and Essex, seemed to have been hit the hardest," Prance said, "causing a lot of falling limbs to hit power lines across the area."

Prance reported that all three area power companies (Ameren UE, Ozark Border and SEMO Electric), experienced outages and were out in force throughout the day and continuing into Monday and Tuesday mornings.

Communications Executive Michael Cleary from Ameren UE, told The Daily Statesman Monday afternoon that there were about 400 county residents who remained without power.

"There were about 3,500 Stoddard County residents without power when the storm hit," Cleary explained.

"We cannot make a prediction of exactly how long it will take to get everyone back on board," he added, "since often that depends upon individual situations and the amount of damage sustained."

Ameren UE crews restored more than 75,000 Missouri customers within 24 hours following Sunday morning's storms, Cleary stated, adding that five percent of those whose power was lost Sunday morning were still without power on Monday afternoon.

"Three fully equipped storm trailers have been deployed in Southeast Missouri to give crews the tools they need where they are working," said Cleary, "and the number of people committed to restoring customers will more than double by the end of today (Monday)."

Cleary warned of the safety hazards involved in situations following storms similar to Sunday's, and urged Ameren UE customers to call their toll free helpline at 800-552-7583 if there are any doubts regarding an issue of safety. While there is an automated procedure to follow when a customer calls in, Cleary emphasized that residents with a specific question to remain on the line until they are connected with an Ameren representative, especially when callers believe that their safety may be compromised.

"Southeast Missouri and the Bootheel was one of the hardest hit areas in the state," Cleary noted.

No injuries were reported in the immediate area as a direct result of the high winds that blasted the area, but the storm scattered tree limbs and debris up and down city streets and across the countryside for as far as the eye could see Sunday morning.

"There was not an area untouched by the storm," said Dexter Police Chief Paul Haubold, who reported also that the department's radio tower was downed from the winds.

"Most of the local damage was minor," Haubold said, "with trees and limbs down all over town."

During the power outage, Haubold and officers manned all intersections in Dexter that utilize stoplights. Businesses along the stretch of Business 60 from near downtown west to Wal-Mart Super Center were out of power from early morning until just after noon. Officers remained on hand, however, until mid-afternoon at all Highway 25 intersections, where stop lights were out of commission until about 3:30 p.m.

While the wrath of the storm was evident all over the county, farmers took an especially hard hit from the high winds. With most area farmers in the midst of corn harvest, the winds wreaked havoc on what corn was left standing. Corn farmers in all directions surrounding Dexter found a sizable portion of their corn crop on the ground when they inspected fields early Sunday. While a few farmers are equipped with a device that attaches to their combines to help salvage corn on the ground, most say they will utilize headers in an attempt to retrieve as much of the fallen crop as is possible. On the plus side, the five-day forecast calls for dry conditions that shouldn't hamper further mobility in the cornfields this week.

Dexter Fire Chief reported no major incidents related to Sunday's storm, but said some residents experienced home alarm systems activating as a result of the winds. The department was called to a minor fire on Day Street on the east edge of town that occurred as a result of downed wires. One of the fire department's generators was called into use, Banken explained, after the storm hit.

"We are helping to provide power for the Water Department to pump wastewater on East Stoddard Street with the use of our generator," Banken explained Monday morning.

According to City Administrator Mark Stidham, city street crews are already busy assisting with the city's cleanup efforts.

"Street Superintendent Jeff Myers is working hard with his crews to pick up limbs and brush that residents are leaving streetside all around town."

Stidham explained the process that the city urges residents to follow during the cleanup effort.

"Anyone wishing for debris to be picked up at their residence needs to place the limbs and brush curbside in front of their residence and then call City Hall at 624-5959 to be placed on a list for disposal. This service is not going to cost city residents a dime, but we ask that they make that call as soon as possible so that crews can complete this task within the next week or two."

"We also urge residents to use extreme caution when removing limbs and cutting larger downed trees," Stidham said, adding, "We have been fortunate so far to have weathered this storm with no one sustaining serious injuries, and we'd like to keep it that way."