Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 19

eciai triepon: -I 5 LOTTERY DONNER PARTY OBITUARIES OPINION 4-5C SUNDAY, JANUARY 5, 1997 RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL MARK LUNDAHL, CITY EDITOR, 788 6305 CIRCULATION: 786-8744, CLASSIFIED: 348-7355 '''I-- Tn ft i'J Health threats lurk In dirty water Will we learn the lessons floods teach? My editors didn't need to look beyond mi lolVcd C.I!Vt 11111! K- lnk tt.lslc. Ini! should icniov ed ai clul! I oi example. i ips mat sccuie cupel me tloois sh.up and i ten "It almost impossihie io at yourself mi those." said Dt Donald YanDyken, a Reno lainilv practitioner. letting cut by a ha i piece of metal is dangeious anytime, but it's definitely no tun when the cut is exposed to untreated ater. "Scrub the heck out of it." is YanDy ken's ad ice.

At the first sign of infection redness, swelling, tenderness, pain Be careful: Experts oiler surv ival tips to help you cope. By Barbara Anderson Kl I II JOI.kWI If looking at the brown froth the 1 ruckee Rier isn't clue enough thai the water is dirty, health officials say take their word tor it: Flood water can be full of bacteria and other pathogens. That doesn't mean a water- You have a great community up here. We had more volunteers than disaster victims. Dwight Jenkins of the Las Vegas Red Cross chapter while working on Reno-area flooding Reno-area relief effort helps make the difference haven't had one within five years, Kutz said.

Because the flood water is dirty, YanDyken recommends keeping infants and toddlers from crawling or playing on the soggy carpets bile they 're being pulled up. Children tend to drop toy on the carpet and pick them up and put them into their mouths, he said. If they ingest enough bacteria or parasites, it can cause water borne illnesses. Pets also should be kept out of the flood water. Use common sense when doing flood cleanup, said Jack Sheen, the 'v s- 1 r'i IK touch see a physician.

tetanus shot is must if von haven't had a booster within live en A on should get il within 24 bonis being cut." said Steve ininiuiiiation program supervisor al the Washoe District Health Department. I claims shots are available from private physicians and al the health department, Inch charges 1 2 for the shot. Any deep, penetrating wound, whether made by a piece of metal, glass, wood or plastic, should be cleaned thoroughly, and the victim should get a tetanus shot, if they Mmagawa a bus passenger stranded "I've been helping with food." said Patrick, wheeling out sack lunches Friday that volunteers hastily packed for departing bus travelers. I hey also served lundi and dinner I huisday I lie nevt phase lor the Red Cmss stall, which moved back I riday to its flooded headijUiiiters on Corporate Boulevard, is damage assessment. Schaller said.

"We will get a good idea ot how many homes are al fee led and then we'll be doing lamily and individual assistance." Salvation Ainu's 1.1, Stephen Arnold sahi his agency opened its feli in the IV7 flood. James said. Lor example in 19X6. James mea-suied 1 1 inches of ram at Ins southwest Reno home 1 his time, he collected "4 5 inches as ot' I hni'sday noon James is convinced that the Truckee Meadows is cspeneuciiig Us third unusually we! winter in a row something that hasn't happened since when weather records were first kept. "You've lived through history: you can tell your giumichildrcn about il." he said "iiiu pr-hab) won't see this again your i.

1 If health department's environmental services assistant director. "If you must slosh through, then you certainly should have boots on. And personal hygiene is important. Wash your hands scrupulously before you eat. smoke or have other mouth contact." Make sure utilities are turned off before cleaning up a flood-soaked home, he said.

Flectrical outlets in the alls can be charged. Remember, the water carries a tremendous amount of debris, including sharp metal objects that can puncture through soft-sole shoes, he said. David B. ParkerMftrio I meb Journal Cross shelter at Reed (High School American Red Cross: Send donations to 1 190 Corporate Blvd, Reno 89502. Details: 856-1000.

Norwest Bank also has established a Sierra Nevada Flood Relief Fund. Details: 785-8441. Salvation Army: Cleaning supplies can be dropped off at 1931 Sutro in northeast Reno, or monetary donations can be mailed to P.O. Box 3057, Reno 89505 Details: 688-4550. gallon piayed lot lam and snow As the water poured down from the heavens and rolled tioiu the I rueke River across Reno and Sparks slate Sen.

Bill Raggio R-Keiio and a ady ol Snows parish-loiiei told Buchanan. hank Ood we didn I pi a foi water this week Speaking ot piayer. Ann I lacy, a pastor at the Imich ol Jesus hnsi Spirit I tiled, said the cliutih hail alerted its player chain this wee! "to piay for Ood to up the water "It's not Mother Natuie. hut Ood that controls the wind and rani die said 1 he I'cv kaiiu Bowman, pastor of St Paul's I tilled Metiiodisl IuiIlI. s.lid liel adv Ice to he! Sunday senium v.

lil he Nii1 jiMycl deeds can say tins slinks." die said of the flood and other tra-y ails "li it it ail depends on our lad.fi and attitude we really believe that Ood is for us that we're no! hieing punished we will come out to a hcHci place. However, it's no! up to Ci.nl to --av 'i It's up to each othei Ood ins giu-ii us a community to 1 'U i r- i 1 V- 1 1 -AM if me to find the loeal media person ith the longest memory about Reno and Washoe County floods. I have been a sandbaggeron two occasions, and twice have ROLLAN MELTON ritten or edited Gazette-Journal flood coverage. Allereach such catastrophe, I was confident the new flood wouldn't slug us as badly as he last But my vision has been flawed. It has been foolish to understate what a mauling that unharnessed Mother Nature can inflict.

So often, that "next big one" has left me eating my words. My first brush with the rampaging Truckee River occurred in 1 950. It was November, and the familiar scenario was in place to deal Big Trouble: 1 leavy early snowfall in the Sierra Nevada, then warming temperatures, followed by unrelenting rain. I was a 1 9-year-old freshman at the University of Nevada when the '50 call for volunteers was issued. Riverside Drive was swamped by the rampaging river by the time a squad of us showed up from I iaitman 1 lull Men's Dormitory to join other volunteers.

As youngand well-conditioned as I then was. I quickly discov ered how exhaustingsandbaggingcan be. We were no match for the churning ater. The raging torrent swamped the Christian Science Church and houses along Riverside Drive. Gradually, we were forced to retreat, to north of First Street.

Finally, our weary flood fighters were replaced bv fresh sandbag troops. 'During the 1950 flood, the Gazette-Journal's foremost reporter-writer nearly was killed. Churning waters almost sucked Frank McCulloch into a manhole on First Street near the Center Street bridge. By chance. I was home on Christmas leave from the Army when the 1 955 flood overwhelmed the city.

I volunteered as a sandbagger, this time downtown on First Street. Again, as five years before, the flood divided the city north and south, because there were fewer bridges than today. For a time, all bridges were closed. Today, the Mapcs and Riverside hotels are silent sentinels. 1 lowever, in 1950 and 1955, they were the entertainment toasts of the town.

But at flood time, each was swamped. So were other businesses on the Truckee's bank, including Home Furniture. 1 lerz Jewelers, Paterson's Men's Store, Tait's Shoes, Spina Shoe Repair Shop, the Majestic Theaterand Reno YMCA. lnboth'50and'55, flooding reached Second Street on the north side of the river, and Court Street to the south. The sights and sounds were like those existing during today's horrific flood: Men and women and youngsters battling alongside each other, trying to harness unruly aters.

The 1963 Reno flood was familiar history flashing before our eyes. The bad-mix formula was again heavy early snow, followed by rain. The unforgettable sight then as the under-construction First National Bank (Wells Fargo) headquarters building at First and Virginia streets. Waters rose so quickly that surprised workers had to scramble to safety. Not emphasized in news coverage of recent days was the close call Reno experienced in 1 964.

Bridges were iped out. a few homes were smacked. and. tragically, a young bov dove from the Arlington Street Bridge into the iolcnt Truckee waters, try ing to save his little dog. The boy was killed.

In the 47 years since 1950, I've missed one flood. That was the glancing water blow of 1986. 1 was away at a newspaper convention when the Truckee Meadows was socked. Upstream storage helped minimize the '86 damage. But in the great flood this time, upstream storage, which didn't exist in '5 0 and '55.

failed to minimize flood peril because upstream reservoirs were already close to full when torrential rain demolished the early snow pack. From such history, we know thai future floods ill occur. This ear's tragic reprise reminds us not to underestimate the Truckee's potential to do us major harm. This month's flood also should re-emphasize the folly of designing and building structures in a way that makes them an easy target. the new Washoe Courthouse annex is today 's classic example.

Its basement is now swamped by flood water. Rollan Melton is a Gazette-Journal columnist. -1 by the flood toe advantage of the Red emergency disaster shelter for the liuckce Meadows and fed 450 people, including about 200 alicady cniolled in Ms rehabilitation programs. I he Salvation Ai my supplied food to Miiulen and also opened a sheller in arson City, where most people came to cat because ol power outages in then homes. He added that the Salvation Army housed some seniors in the men's shelter and put up some disabled residents in aiea motels I aniilies weie placed in the family shelter on (ialetti Way until it See RELIEF on page 3C WAITING: Japanese tounst uta here." Jenkins said.

"We had more volunteers than disaster victims. Folks within a four-block area of the school just walked in to help." He added that businesses gave the shelter everything from food to towels and soap. Beth Reagan brought must ol her family from her nearby home: her sister. Dominican Sister Judith Reagan visiting from Fremont. Calif her daughter.

Heather. 16. a Reed student, and her son. Patrick. 12.

whi) goes to Floyd Diednchsen Llementary School. Judith Reagan said, I he whole family's, really good about helping people." Pulling together: Local businesses donate everything from food to towels and soap. By Janice Hoke KINOCiAII It Kit KWl For about 300 people caught in the New Year's Day flood, the American Red Cross has been a blessing. The Salvation Army and other relief agencies, aided by community volunteers, fed and housed about 250 more. "The Red Cross was wonderful." said Anthony Stevens of Sacramento, Calif.

He was returning home from a holiday in Mammoth Lakes. when he and about 50 other travelers were stranded Thursday because the Greyhound bus terminal on First Street in downtown Reno was flooded. Their buses were rerouted to the Red Cross shelter at Reed High School in Sparks. Director Leslie Schaffer said her agency served about 2,250 meals Wednesday and Thursday in its shelters in Reno-Sparks, Carson City and Douglas County On Wednesday, those shelters housed about 170 people, rising to 300 the following day. More fortunate people in the neighborhoods around the shelters at Reed and McQueen high schools and Swope and Pine middle schools also helped.

"The floodgates opened for volunteers." said Schaffer. adding 40 or 50 people showed up at each location, looking for ays to help. As he picked up a sack lunch and reboarded a bus al noon Friday. Dale Steffens of Nebraska, who is moving to Modesto, Calif, was thankful for the blankets and food but also for the hospitality and courtesy of the shelter volunteers. Al Reed High School.

Dwight Jenkins from the Las Vegas Red Cross chapter said the public's response was phenomenal. "You have a great community up Weather quirks combine to make for historic flood By Faith Bremner (AUG "TTT JOl HN The flood of I 7 may turn out to he the I ruckee Meadows' flood of the century, because more environmental factors are working against it now than in previous modern floods, the state chmatolo-gist said. The previous two wet winters and recent heavy snowstorms set up the Truckee Meadows for this latest flood. State Climatologist John James said As the area approached the flood of 1 997. Truckee River reservoirs were nearly full and aquifers were brimming with water.

A heavy snowstorm before Christmas left the lower elevations coated with deep snow. Combine those factors with the warm, we! storm that moved into the area early last week and northern Nevada could have a new record-breaking flood to add to the books. James said. "I guess we were on somebody's bad Christmas list because everything came together." James said. The Dec.

2l snowfall was unusual bv itself because it produced i Reno-area pastors offer spiritual help in disaster Wwi uhLd' I 'iJ-S a IN 1955: Tne Reno Fire Oepartrriert was sn nand wren nh'v pumped oer sandoags am bacK toward me Truckee River By Guy Richardson Kl II I II II KWl hen disaster strikes or pours from the skies many tin to then faith tor spiritual help In Reno, paslois plan not only spiiitual help but physical help A random sampling of local chinches found the follow ing "We will find much ol' the Sunday service wait lug the stieels and asking people if we can be of help." the Rev Robell Owens ot the 1 niveisity I aunly I ellowdnp Viiicyaid said "It's a great tune to be sensitive to otheis What good does it do to any a Hi hie il pei pic can't see votn Owens' thousand-member will he with live one pastors divided hy II' code wlio Will eooidiiiatc leoe! elioits in R.ei'a i and Spart At Our ad', ol Snows 1 Bob Buchanan said Uish. I'hiilip Stialllig was sending a kite! to all Catholic paiishcs in the lloo.j areas, ask nig ho needed help and who wfiuid voluiiiecr to help "We are also coordii.ai n.e with the Red Cross." liuJi.iiiai, said On a lighter note Buchanan that earlier in year i.iie the ell ou giit was going on he large amounts of snow a short period of time at luwerelevalioiis. And that snow disappeared quickly he said "We had 2 feet in arson ity and it didn't just go into the air." James said. "Where did go' Down into the ground and down the river." Just like this flood, rain and snow caused all the bit' floods of IVX6. 1964 and 1955.

But unlike this one. se eral dry years preceded those floods, and the lower elevations did not have large amounts of snow James said. However, much more rain fell in the floods of 196 and 1455 than.