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July 9, 1999
Storm damages building,causes phone problemsBy GUY PRIEL Journal Staff Writer NEW ULM -- Winds blew across the city Thursday morning, reaching gusts of approximately 55 miles per hour, knocking down a building and crippling a component of telephone communications. Although some customers experienced loss of phone service, the major component of service affected by the storm was the voice-mail system, New Ulm Telecom Executive Vice President Bill Otis said. "Apparently the building received a direct lightning hit," he said. "A number of our main terminals were knocked out, but we had the service back up in a relatively short time." The voice mail system was out for most of the morning as officials waited for the parts needed to repair the computer mainframe to be air-freighted in from the manufacturer. "There were employees on the premises at the time the storm hit, which helped get the situation under control quicker," Otis said. "Disaster recovery went better than expected." Across town, damage of another type took place at the Brown County Fairgrounds when the newly placed roof trusses of the hog barn/bus garage collapsed. The trusses, which had been put in place on Wednesday, were completely knocked down by the storm with the exception of a few on the south side of the structure. "The trusses were scheduled for sealing today, so 12 hours later, and we would have been fine," Brown County Fair Committee Spokesperson Renee Retzlaff said. "The repairs will delay us a good week on the timeline." The side bars will have to be straightened out before the new trusses can be put in place, she said. "The builder has insurance on the building, so that part is taken care of," Brown County Board Chairman Andrew Lochner said. There will be no way to determine if the timeline for completion will be affected by the damage, but the goal remains to have the building completed in time for the fair. "A lot of it depends on what was damaged and how long it takes for the builder to get what materials are needed," Lochner said. The engineers and the contractors were at the site Thursday morning to determine the extent of damage to the structure. It was the determination of the insurance company that new rafters needed to be ordered, Brown County Administrator Charles Enter said. The building is being designed as a permanent structure to house the Heartland Express buses operated by the county as well as for use as a livestock building during the fair. The rafters are always vulnerable in a building of this type, according to a spokesman from Clements Lumber Company of Comfrey. Bracing had not yet been put in place when the winds hit Thursday morning.
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