Residents of Saline, Howard counties face cleanup after storm hits area
SALINE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Tedd Wiseman got a call Monday morning that led him to a shocking discovery.
“I couldn't believe it. One of the volunteer firemen was calling me on the phone, and he said, ‘Man, you all got heavy bin damage," Wiseman said
He is the manager at Central Missouri AgriService's Slater location in Saline County, where storms hit early Monday.
Wiseman said he couldn't believe what he saw when he arrived at work. Grain elevators were torn open and had extensive damage. Most of the heavy damage was to bean and soybean storage bins, Wiseman said. About 600,000 bushels worth of beans were lost in four bins. Crews were still assessing if a fifth bin was a loss Monday afternoon.
Wiseman said the bins were like a skyline for Slater.
“I stared at these things for 40 years; they just always stood here. They're built in the seventies,” Wiseman said.
As cleanup crews worked to remove large pieces of damaged debris on Monday, Wiseman said management would soon sit down at the drawing board to decide what comes next in rebuilding.
That was what many people across Saline County were faced with after the storms.
An ABC 17 News reporter saw a tree crush the front of a home in the 300 block of South Jefferson Street in Slater.
A downed powerline pole toppled another, seemingly abandoned, house in nearby Gilliam on South Bartlett Street off Highway 240. A torn-apart metal barn was seen in pieces blown across Highway 240. Some pieces of it were mangled in trees.
At least four-dozen powerlines snapped while driving through parts of Saline and Howard counties. Thousands were left in the dark.
The City of Glasgow declared a state of emergency after the town lost power, which could be restored in two-to-three days, the city announced on its social media.
An ABC 17 News reporter saw part of the Tri-County Trust Company's roof blown off in Glasgow on Monday. Electric crews were seen across the city working on downed powerlines— some fully on the ground, some mangled in trees.
For all the damage and cleanup ahead, Wiseman said he feels there is still much to be grateful for.
“Everybody seems to be in pretty decent humor. And we're lucky that, to my knowledge, nobody has been hurt in this. And the only thing that's really been tore up is property. That can be can be rebuilt,” Wiseman said.
No injuries have been reported as of Monday evening.
