Flood waters begin to recede

Roadways open, employees return to work after torrential rain

Roadways open, employees return to work after torrential rain

July 14, 2006|YONIKA WILLIS Tribune Staff Writer

GOSHEN -- Flood waters from Tuesday night's heavy rainfall have started to recede, allowing many Elkhart County employees to return to work and opening up roadways to drivers. On Wednesday, high waters from the storms affected roughly 150 employees at Lippert Components, 1,000 employees at Forest River and 70 employees at Gulf Stream Coach, according to WSBT-TV. But with water levels decreasing, conditions were returning to normal Thursday for many affected at the RV companies. "We're still in the triage mode," said Rob Konopinski, general counsel for Lippert Components. "We're still cleaning up. Most people are back to work. The parking lot (water level) is down. We're still assessing the water inside." A few doors down at Gulf Stream Coach, employees were able to return to work Thursday. "We're in full production today," said Ron Lemert with Gulf Stream Coach. "We were lucky, we were one of the first ones to drain. We had no damage to the inside of our building or to our product." By 4 p.m. Wednesday, most roads were opened throughout Goshen, but high water is still visible in fields and low-lying areas, said Goshen Street Commissioner Barb LaDow. "The last road we opened was Monroe Street near the (Elkhart County 4-H) Fairgrounds," LaDow said. Crews were waiting for phone service to be restored to homes in the area before opening up the street. On Thursday crews unplugged and scraped mud off of once-flooded roadways. Crews also swept roadways and made sure drains weren't plugged with debris and dirt. Staff writer Yonika Willis: ywillis@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6556