The Herald, Sharon, PA Published Sunday, August 18, 2002


Storm hit Valley View hard, washed basement wall away

By Larissa Theodore
Herald Staff Writer

A storm that blew into Sharon and surrounding areas at about 8:15 p.m. Friday left some residents and businesses waterlogged and without power.

Brookfield firefighters said they received between 15 to 20 telephone calls within four hours Friday night from residents regarding power outages and trees knocked down by heavy rain and lightning.

The heaviest damage was at Valley View Antique Expo Center in Brookfield, where a 35-foot by 40-foot piece of the roof over the middle of the complex collapsed, said Manager Bob Stafford.

Firefighters estimated damage at $100,000. Workers at the complex closed the building about 10 minutes before roof collapsed and no one was injured, Brookfield firefighters said.

Valley View remained closed to the public Saturday while construction workers repaired a temporary roof and pushed water out of the building, said Ronald Lecksor, owner of the Dish Network Authorized Store at Expo Center.

Lecksor said a major dividing wall between different parts of the building left more water damage on the Antique Mall side of the store. An air conditioner left on overnight helped protect antiques and other merchandise in the building.

"We're already picking up the pieces. We're getting the water out and getting things back to normal," he said. "Things will be back up and operating as soon as possible."

Valley View will be closed to regular business today. Anglan's Auction Service is expected to hold a 1 p.m. auction at the Expo Center entrance. The Antique mall should be open for regular business hours Monday and Wednesday for the flea market.

Renee Kloss of 199 E. Budd St. said Friday night's storms forced her, her husband John and their two children out of their home and into a local hotel.

Their basement wall, which was fixed in October, collapsed at about 8:45 p.m. Friday from a rush of rain water.

"My husband was upstairs playing the drums and figured he'd better go check the basement. It leaks every time there's a heavy rain. All of a sudden we heard a big boom," she said.

Firefighters checked out their home and told them they had to get out, she said. The rainwater was at least 8 inches high and covered the bottom of the basement stairs, she said.

Sharon firefighters also responded to flooding at Keystone Blind Association on Dayton Way.

Sharon and Farrell firefighters said they had no reports of power outages, trees or wires down.



Back to TOP // Herald Local news // Local this day's headlines // Herald Home page



Questions/comments: online@sharon-herald.com
For info about advertising on our site or Web-site creation: advertising@sharon-herald.com
Copyright ©2002 The Sharon Herald Co. All rights reserved.
Reproduction or retransmission in any form is prohibited without our permission.

'10615