Volunteers meet needs when clinic loses roof

Published 5:00 am Thursday, April 7, 2005

A series of storms kept citizens, emergency officials andvolunteers busy Wednesday responding to damage from fallen treesand high winds.

At the Brookhaven Animal Hospital on Highway 51, Dr. Bob Watsonsaid a strong wind blew two-thirds to three-quarters of the roofoff the building around 3 p.m. Wednesday. He and assistant ScarlettStokes acted quickly to move computers and other equipment to dryareas of the building.

“Everything’s wet,” Watson said, as soaked ceiling tilesperiodically collapsed in the various rooms.

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Within minutes, friends, family members and volunteers showed upto offer whatever assistance they could. Dr. Dianne Watsonestimated close to 100 people were on hand to help relocate animalsand get the roof covered.

“It was covered in a couple of hours,” she said. “The onlyholdup was waiting for the rain to stop.”

No animals were injured.

“All the animals are fine,” Dianne Watson said. “Owners came andgot what they could.”

Watson said other animals were transferred to the Animal HealthCenter or Animal Medical Center. Brookhaven Animal Rescue Leaguemembers volunteered to house BARL animals in their homes.

“The rescue league volunteers were just phenomenal,” Watsonsaid.

As he moved equipment out of an exam room Wednesday, Bob Watsonpaused to reply a note on a message board that a toilet was leakingin the front restroom.

“I’ll get to it after I fix the roof,” Watson wrote.

The Watsons were appreciative for all the assistance followingthe storm. They were had faith that they would recover.

“God has seen me through everything in my life. He’s see methrough this,” Bob Watson said.

Elsewhere in the county Wednesday afternoon, Katie Jarancik, of3196 Hunsucker Lane, was on the telephone when lighting struck atree outside her home.

“It (electricity) caught the telephone line and came into thehome,” said the Rev. Wiley Reid.

Reid said Jarancik fell down and injured her hip. She wasrecovering at the home of her parents Robert and Elaine Smith.

“She’s very fortunate she’s alive,” Reid said.

Just east of Highway 51, residents of a mobile home park onGleason Loop surveyed damage from the same storm that impacted theanimal hospital.

Antionette Jones said she watched as a large tree fell onneighbor Lawrence Thomas’ trailer. The tree fell through one end ofthe home.

“He ran out and cut his hand wide open,” said Jones, adding thatpolice arrived and took him to the hospital, where he was treatedand released.

Jones said she had just gotten home from buying groceries whenthe storm passed through.

“It was just shaking,” Jones said about her trailer in thestorm.

Several large tree fell around other park homes, includingJones’.

“It barely missed it,” Jones said.

The afternoon storm was the latest of several that moved throughLincoln County on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, a powerful stormwinds downed trees in the Field Lark Lane area and in nearbycommunities.

Alean Smith’s home at 1659 Old Highway 51 was covered withdowned trees after a storm that passed through around 9:30 a.m.Daughter Victoria Henderson said her brother Lekendrick Smith wasat the home but not injured while her mother had come to her homeon Lipsey Street.

“She said something told her to get up, get a bath and get out,”Henderson said.