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Vol. 16, No. 14, Wednesday, March 3, 2021 www.LamontLeader.com
Lamont house devastated by floodwaters herself, husband Andy, teenage son BY JANA SEMENIUK An early morning water main break and 85-year-old mother, waited for six in Lamont on Feb. 8 left some residents hours for the water to be shut off, while with low water pressure and one resi- it continued seeping into their home . Edworthy said, by email, the water dent, Ann Yuke, with flood damage to break in the town’s water line was her home. Once the site was under control, finally found and repaired on Feb. 24, Yuke’s property was devastated again citing cold temperatures for the delay finding the actual break. by a second more damaging flood on in Feb. 23 caused when town workers Unfortunately the problem was not discovered before a second more devopened a valve near her home. astating flood hap“We’ve lived here for pened to Yuke’s prop22 years and never had Outside there erty. any type of flooding “The day before they happen,” said Yuke. was a river found the break, I took “Then to have two flowing in our my dog into our backfloods happen within a backyard. yard, which was a few weeks, from no sheet of ice at this point fault of our own, was - Ann Yuke because of the last pretty devastating.” flood,” she said. “All of Yuke explained hearing a loud noise signifying the start of a sudden I heard all of the ice crackling. I was concerned so I looked into the her ordeal. “On Feb. 8 at about four in the morn- back alley and I didn’t see anything. ing I was in bed and heard a loud Then I turned back to my garage and breaking noise. At first, I thought it was there was literally a tsunami of brown just the house creaking from the cold,” dirty water flowing the full width of she said. “But then I heard my husband my foundation and was half way up running the shop vac and I came out to my house.” Yuke added that she saw town worksee him madly vacuuming water that was coming in our back entrance. men nearby and got their attention. “I saw the workers back there workOutside there was a river flowing in ing and I started yelling and got their our backyard.” Yuke wasted no time contacting attention,” she said. “What they had done was fully open up a valve Lamont town employees. “I went to the back of our garage and because they thought they found what saw a river flowing,” she said. “I found the issue was.” Edworthy explained by email what the town emergency line and called. It took them a bit to come because it was the situation was. “This was an unfortunate situation so cold outside.” The freezing temperatures, which where the original site was isolated were dipping below -30, also delayed and the line was recharged to find the ability of town workers to shut off another location requiring repair,” he the water pouring into Yuke’s proper- said. As a result, Yuke’s home, which was ty. Lamont Director of Operations and nearly dried out from the first flood, Infrastructure, Tyler Edworthy, suffered another blow. “There was a river flowing through explained how progress was impeded. “The steel valve caps require heating my breezeway into my entranceway, and melting measures in order to open which we had just renovated in May to them in the extreme cold weather,” he accommodate my mother’s walker,” she said. said by email. Continued on Page 2 Yuke said her family, consisting of
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BAD LUCK, WATERLINES, CAUSE FLOODS Lamont homeowner Ann Yuke stands alongside insulation tarps laid around the foundations of her home to prevent any further ice buildup. Her home was damaged by a couple of floods from broken water lines in Lamont during the past month. Photo John Mather