Nov 21, 2003 By Patty Shultz 3 min read

Street departments in the Connellsville area were busy repairing roads and alleys and flushing storm drains Thursday while their counterparts in the fire department continued to pump water from basements after the torrential downpours that hit the county Wednesday. “We were glad to see the sunshine,” said Dunbar Township Supervisor Tom Yekel. “It made our work a lot easier today.”

The township declared a state of emergency Wednesday after streams and creeks began to overflow their banks and infiltrate the basements of countless homes and rip the blacktop from roadways.

Areas of Dickerson Run Hollow, Wheeler Bottom and Hardy Hill were the hardest hit by the floodwaters, said Yekel.

“We didn’t have to evacuate anyone, but there were some that had to move their horses, cows and dogs to higher ground,” he said.

Township workers were clearing ditches and storm pipes that had been clogged with debris throughout the day and assessing damage to roadways.

Yekel said the raging water flow along Hardy Hill Road peeled the road material away from its surface. “It was just a cold patch material we use to patch holes, but the water got underneath and tore it away,” he said.

Morrell Volunteer Fire Co. emergency personnel were called to several locations to assist homeowners with flooded basements, said Yekel.

“We have a lot of flood-prone areas,” he said.

Yekel said he anticipated the township would lift the state of emergency today.

In South Connellsville, Mayor Pete Casini said street department workers were awaiting a delivery of gravel that will be used to reconstruct several alleys damaged in Wednesday’s deluge.

“We’ve got the drains opened and we’re still working on the cleanup,” he said.

Casini said the borough fire company also was busy throughout the day pumping water from basements throughout the community.

“Everybody has done a great job,” he said, adding that he anticipated lifting an imposed state of emergency by evening.

In Connellsville, police and fire department officials said the city escaped the storm-related problems that hit the neighboring communities.

“We really dodged the bullet,” said city Fire Chief Joe Childs.

The city fire department, along with New Haven Hose Volunteer Fire Co., were dispatched to approximately 15 homes Wednesday to help residents clear water from their homes.

Childs said the Youghiogheny River reached flood level overnight, but was much lower by daybreak.

City Police Chief Stephen Cooper said officers reported some water ponding on roadways but no weather-related accidents.

“We were very lucky,” he said.