BELOW...THE STORY ON TWO EVENTS IN JACKSON COUNTY SATURDAY NIGHT AND EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. THE "FIREBALL" IN DOWNTOWN MAQUOKETA SATURDAY.... AND THE HIGH WINDS THAT HIT ANDREW SUNDAY.
MIKE ROEDER, MAYOR OF ANDEW AND MANAGER OF INNOVATIVE AG-SERVICES AWOKE AROUND 6 THIS (SUNDAY) MORNING, HEARD IT RAIN AND DECIDED TO CLOSE SOME WINDOWS. HE THEN SAW LIGHTENING, HEARD TWO LARGE THUNDER BOOMS AND THEN HEARD THE ROAR OF THE TWISTER GOING OVERHEAD THROUGH ANDREW. UP ON THE HILL IN HIS HOME EAST OF THE BUSINESS, HE SAW THE LARGE GARBAGE CONTAINER THAT NORMALLY IS ON THE SIDE OF BUILDING, OVERTURNED IN THE CORNER OF THE PARKING LOT. HE QUICKLY CAME ACROSS HIGHWAY 62 AND SAW THAT THE INNOVATIVE SHOP BUILDING HAD BEEN HIT BY THE STORM THAT CAME IN FROM THE WEST AND PASSED THROUGH ANDREW, LEAVING TOWN BY THE BALL DIAMOND EAST OF TOWN. THE ABOVE PHOTO SHOWS THE CONTAINER BY NOT MUCH DAMAGE. I THEN TOO PHOTOS AROUND THE HARD-HIT SHOP BUILDING.
TREES OR BRANCHES WERE DOWN IN THE PATH OF THE STORM.....
AND METAL FROM THE SHOP WAS FOUND IN SEVERAL PLACES. CITIZEN AND FIREMEN SUNDAY MORNING WERE HARD AT WORK CLEANING UP THE MESS.
THE ROOF OF THE BALL DIAMOND CONCESSION STAND CAME OFF. MAYOR ROEDER SAID THE SHOP THAT WAS A COMPLETE LOSS WILL BE TAKEN AWAY WITH HELP OF A CRANE MONDAY AND IS COVERED BY INSURANCE FOR THE COMPANY, WITH HEADQUARTERS IN MONTICELLO. THE BUSINESS WILL BE OPEN AS USUAL MONDAY MORNING.
HE SAID THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL VISIT ANDREW SOMETIME THIS WEEK TO DETERMINE IF THE STORM WAS AN ACTUAL TORNADO.
AND THE MAYOR SAID....THE GOOD THING....NO ONE WAS INJURED. SATURDAY NIGHT, THE 2ND ANNUAL "FIREBOX" CONCERT" WAS A BIG HIT IN THE DOWNTOWN GREEN SPACE. IT RAN FROM 5 UNTIL MIDNIGHT AND WAS SPONSORED AGAIN BY THE MAQUOKETA FIRE DEPARTMENT FOUNDATION. GOOD WEATHER, TWO GOOD ROCK BANDS, A BEER STAND, FOOD STAND AND PLENTY OF PICNIC TABLES MADE FOR A FUN TIME BY A VERY GOOD TURNOUT.
