Storm downs limbs in Nevada, wreaks havoc in Fort Scott

In Fort Scott, power outages were far more widespread, and there were numerous reports of damage to structures as well as the fallen tree limbs and power lines. Many Fort Scott residents were without power through Saturday. Westar Energy, which serves Bourbon County, said numerous poles were damaged by the storm. Some customers in Bourbon County remained without power for most of Sunday. A garage partially collapses onto two buses at Community Christian Church, Fort Scott after strong area winds on Friday.

By Jason Silvers

Special to the Daily Mail

The massive power outage in Fort Scott, caused by a fierce storm that tore through the area Friday, brought on an economic ripple that touched businesses on both sides of the state line.

This house at 822 W. Sycamore barely escaped major damage from this tree limb brought down by winds during Friday afternoon's storm.

Kenna Clements, manager and owner of Emery's Truck Plaza in Deerfield, said the gas station had an "extreme amount of business" Friday and Saturday, after thousands were left without electricity due to strong winds and heavy rains that knocked down more than 45 transmission poles in Bourbon County.

Clements said she and her 15 employees kept the business running smoothly during the chaos, directing customers in the parking lot, helping them pump gas and keeping them satisfied.

"Friday night was just as bad as Saturday," she said. "We handled it as best we could. We pumped gas for them ... We accommodated all of them, and we appreciated all of it."

Clements said she wasn't sure exactly how many people the business drew over the weekend.

"It was a great big hit all of a sudden," she said. "I can just say there were a lot of people."

Clements said there were some positives and some negatives that came out of the situation. One positive was that many customers left satisfied; another was that the situation brought some people to the truck stop who had never been there.

"There were no displeased people, I don't think," she said. "There were a few people who didn't know Deerfield was over here."

One negative was that there were two "gas drive-offs" -- when customers drive off without paying for gas -- over the weekend, Clements said.

"A couple of people took advantage of the situation," she said. "Everyone else was very accommodating."

Many people ate at the restaurant inside the station after purchasing gas and any items they needed. Several customers brought jugs and purchased gas for their generators and ice for their coolers, Clements said.

"The restaurant was packed," she said. "Plus it was Friday and I think payday for a lot of people."

In Fort Scott, Heritage Inn & Suites General Manager Tammy Grimes said the hotel lost power about 3:30 p.m. Friday and it wasn't restored until about 9 p.m. Saturday.

The hotel lost a major portion of its business -- BNSF railroad workers who stay at the hotel every day -- following the storm, and had to send those workers to Nevada.

The hotel's last three occupants left late Saturday morning, Grimes said.

"We lost about two days' worth of pay from the railroad," she said. "Plus the cafe wasn't open so we couldn't grill or anything. We lost revenue."

Through the contract the hotel has with BNSF, it gets from 58 to sometimes 71 railroad workers in a 24-hour period, Grimes said.

"We get them all the time, that's our main business," she said.

Plus, the business had to bring in a professional steamer to steam the carpets due to damage from the storm, and lost several of its weekend reservations.

Grimes said she didn't have exact figures, but the hotel lost about "a day and a half" of business and also sustained some minor damage to buildings such as a broken antenna and damaged siding.

The hotel was closed Friday and Saturday but is open now and staff are trying to get back to normal operations.

"We're waiting on the insurance adjuster to come in," Grimes said.

Polly Shumaker, general manager of the Super 8 Motel in Nevada, said hotel staff were "glad to have all the people" over the weekend. Shumaker, who works during the day shift, said she wasn't sure about evening numbers but the hotel was busier than a typical weekend and drew more business than it has of late.

"We were pretty busy yesterday," she said. "It did help business quite a lot."

Portions of Nevada and Vernon County experienced power surges during the storm. Shumaker said lights at the hotel blinked on and off repeatedly and the facility did lose cable and Internet for a while, but those services were fixed.

Nevada/Vernon County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Gina Ensor said Nevada is grateful for the boost in the local economy and "proud to have such good neighbors as Fort Scott people. It's unfortunate that Nevada did get business in that regard, but grateful that we could be of help to people that needed it at the time," Ensor said.

Ensor said she found through conversations she had with business owners in Nevada that the weekend was "a little bit busier" than usual, but couldn't attribute it directly to the power outage.

Had the roles been reversed and the power blackout occurred in Nevada, "we would have received the same hospitality over there. That's what neighbors do," she said.

"We're grateful for all the folks in Fort Scott who come over even when there's not a power outage."