Author: Allison Jacobs

The Henry County Historic Preservation Commission met Wednesday April 17, 2024 at the Henry County Heritage Center.  Several topics were covered including the sign for the Wayland Historic Residential District being approved with a plan to have it installed by Memorial Day weekend.  The Commission will be assisting the Mt. Pleasant Historic Preservation in the upcoming Preserve Iowa Summit in Mt. Pleasant the first week of June.  The Commission will also be presenting a session on its 30 years of historic preservation in the county and Joel Garretson of the Commission is organizing a pre-conference social at the East Grove Farms Winery on June 5.  In other business, there was a discussion of the project plan by the Daughters of the American Revolution for reconstruction of the Lowell Mills monument.  Also discussed was the Oakland Mills historic wagon bridge being closed to the public for safety reasons. The next meeting will be held May 15th at the Henry County Heritage Center.

Community; a feeling of fellowship with others. After a large storm system stretching from just North of the Missouri line to North of Wayland produced numerous tornadoes, hail, and torrential rain causing destruction; our communities immediately banned together.

The City of New London updated that residents and students have one of the homes destroyed by the tornado packed and will continue to assist affected residents. If you would like to help, cases of water, snack items, totes, cookies, Gatorade, and cereal can be dropped off at the New London Library. The Tiger Food Pantry is open tomorrow, Thursday from 3:30 to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 to 11 a.m. The city of New London will be picking up residents’ limbs and branches curbside tomorrow (Thursday, 4/18/2024). After this date residents can haul their branches to the city lot south of the school’s football field (on Adams St.).

Burge Cemetery West of New London needs volunteers to clear debris and repair monuments. If you would like to volunteer, show up to the Cemetery after 8 am on Thursday, April 18^th as they will be working all day. If you are not able to physically volunteer, donations are being accepted for repairs. To donate send a check addressed to Burge Cemetery to PO Box 123 New London, IA 52645.

Holy Trinity Catholic will be sending Holy Trinity Catholic High School students to Houghton to aid in clean up this afternoon. Houghton Mayor Gayle Thompson suggested following the path of debris as the best way to assist in clean up efforts. Some homes in the Houghton Area are still without power. Alliant Energy originally told residents they may be without power for up to four days but has since updated they hope to have power restored by the end of today.

Clean up efforts in Salem persist.  Randy Kruse is in need of volunteers to assist in repairs and cleanup at 3389 Hickory Avenue Salem, IA 52649. Kruse’s property was severely damaged in yesterday’s storm resulting in debris scattering neighboring properties.

Please refrain from driving around areas affected by yesterday’s storms as utility workers are still repairing downed power lines and clearing debris. Thank you to everyone for your quick actions, giving hearts, and limitless drive to assist.

The New London Community School District still has school today, but due to the destruction of yesterday’s storm, administration is extending the offer for students 7^th through 12^th grade to help with clean up around town. New London Community School District stated, “Providing students with the opportunity to help with cleanup efforts not only supports the community but also instills a sense of empathy and responsibility in our students.”

The school district is asking parents with students wanting to participate to call or email the High School office. They plan to leave the school after the 1^st period and will return for a short lunch before returning to the community to provide more assistance. If you were affected by the storm and need assistance, please message your address and name to the New London Community School District Facebook page, or call the high school at 319-367-0500.

The city of New London will be picking up residents limbs and branches curbside tomorrow (Thursday, 4/18/2024).

After this date residents can haul their branches to the city lot south of the school’s football field (on Adams St.).

Southeast Iowa was hit hard with severe weather yesterday afternoon. Downed power lines are still throwing a wrench in todays plans, Salem Elementary will not have school today due to loss of power but staff is to report as normal.

Lee County spotted a total of 3 tornados in the county. Overturned semis, sides of buildings gone, debris, and downed power lines. Damage at Hwy 16 and 150^th avenue resulted in a closure yesterday afternoon, as of this morning the span of Hwy 16 from 150^th to 130^th is still closed.

Yesterday just before 4:30 in the afternoon, Mount Pleasant Fire Department reported a tornado touchdown south east of Mount Pleasant heading East. The tornado followed Highway 34 wreaking havoc on powerlines. The West side of New London saw damage to homes, downed trees, a barn obliterated, and machine sheds ripped apart.

The tornado then headed Northeast through Burge cemetery. Jesse Howard, President of Burge Cemetery said, “The impact has been significant, damaging hundreds of headstones, shredding nearly every tree, and completely destroying our historic shed built in 1921. In light of the current situation, our primary focus is to ensure that the families affected by the storm receive the necessary assistance to restore their homes to livable conditions. We understand that their needs should be prioritized, and therefore, we have decided to postpone the cleanup process until Thursday.”

North of New London on New London Road, Quaker Avenue, and 250^th Street saw extensive damage. Homes were destroyed, debris littered fields, outbuildings were lifted from their foundations, and residents arrived in droves to assist those affected. Residents and first responders uncovered basement entrances, boarded up windows, and tarped no longer existing roofs.

Damage was also reported in Yarmouth, IA.

No injuries have been reported. Walt Jackson of Henry County Emergency Management has a working list of homes damaged by yesterday’s storms, if you experienced damage you can email Walt at wjackson@henrycountyiowa.us or call the office and leave a message at (319) 385-1479.

Kevin Wheeler, General Manager and CEO of Access Energy Cooperation confirmed power was restored to almost all members by midnight last night. The only member still without power is moving a manure spreader that was displaced into the lines by the storm. Wheeler thanks everyone for their patience.

As of 8:45 a.m. this morning Alliant Energy is working to restore power to 17 residences North of and around Salem with power restoration expected at 9 this morning, 796 residences around the Houghton area with power restoration expected about 10:30 this morning, and 40 residences with an estimated power restoration time of 10 am.

When yesterday’s storms passed, a double rainbow took the place of dark skies. Thank you to all of the hard working utility workers, first responders, and everyone that showed up to help their neighbors.