The cost to save Zoar

But it's was worth it!

From the 4/15/08 edition of the Times Reporter

Work at levee cost more than $1 million
ZOAR, OH —

Mayor Larry Bell told Village Council recently the cost to shore the Zoar levee was $1.1 million. He said 37,000 tons of material were trucked in to stop soil from passing though the levee – not to stop the water.

Fiscal Officer Patty Smith said Monday that the cost is paid by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

At the meeting, Bell informed council about the recent flooding and all that was learned from the Army Corps of Engineers. He presented topography maps showing flood water elevations.

From March 23 until the job was finished about 170 truckloads of material was taken to the village each day.

Bell spoke with Patty Levengood, director of the Tuscarawas County Homeland Security & Emergency Management Agency, about extra costs to the village for extra police coverage because of the trucks coming across the levee and the spectators. He said Levengood was able to find additional funds to help pay for the police.

According to village officials, Bolivar police worked about 57 additional hours at a cost of about $1,400. The bill will be paid through the state Disaster Relief Program.

Smith said the U.S. Corps hired additional flaggers because of the truck traffic and spectators going to the village.

Bell said the Army Corps had an evacuation plan in place with several volunteers and up to 200 personnel ready to help residents move items to the second floor if it became necessary and with any evacuation, if that would have occurred.

According to Bell a compete study of a permanent fix for the levee will be completed in December 2009. The U.S. Corps will drill relief wells and install improved drainage this summer.

“The levee is good with a good clay core covered with topsoil. The problem is underneath pressure, and the relief wells are intended to relieve that pressure,” Bell said.

He also said village government must consider that potential flooding may become a way of life, and every provision must be taken for the residents. He asked council to write down ideas for possible plans and take them to the May meeting.

A committee should be formed to develop a plan for the village, he said.

They're going back!

Just published on the Tusky Valley Schools website this afternoon:

TV Schools Set to Open Tuesday, April 1

TV Schools will open school for students on Tuesday, April 1. “We’re very encouraged with the fact that water has receded much faster than originally projected by the US Army Corps of Engineers last week,” said Mark A. Murphy, superintendent. School officials met late Sunday afternoon with county commissioners and representatives from the US Army Corps of Engineers to receive the most up to date water elevation projections. “We are prepared to take full advantage of the downward trend in water levels and clearing of roads so that we can welcome and resume classes for students,” Murphy added. As of Sunday, numerous county roads and State Route 212 between Zoar and State Route 800 remained closed due to high waters, preventing TV Schools from opening Monday.

Although the Ohio Department of Transportation plans to officially open State Route 212 and the entrance to Tusky Valley Road (County Road 106) Monday afternoon, school officials were advised by commissioners and the US Army Corps of Engineers on Sunday that the opening of State Route 212 may not be permanent based on anticipated rain events later this week. As a result, district officials have created alternative measures to safely transport students to and from school if warranted.

District transportation supervisor Jim Downing and Superintendent Murphy met Monday morning with Sheriff Walt Wilson and Bo Hysong of the Sandy Township Trustees to review contingency plans in the event State Route 212 were to close again. School bus and other school traffic would be temporarily re-routed to 2nd Street in Zoar to Mineral-Zoar and Bailey Roads. “We are extremely grateful for the support and blessings from Sheriff Wilson and the Sandy Township Trustees in re-routing traffic if State Route 212 is not open or if it were to close again,” expressed Murphy. “Our primary goal is to ensure the safe transportation of all students, and I’m confident we can do that with the clearance and assistance from our local law enforcement.”

In other preparations, individual contact will be made to families of students whose designated bus stops are changed due to flooded roadways. “We are elated to be able to welcome our students back,” Murphy expressed on behalf of staff and the Tuscarawas Valley Board of Education. “In re-opening, we urge all drivers to be extra cautious, follow posted road signs, and allow flexibility with school and transportation schedules.”

I find it interesting that now they are going to take advantage of the back roads should 212 have to close again.

Okay, one more quick update

The Times Reporter posted a press release from Tusky Valley Schools saying school will be closed Monday, April 31st. But stay tuned! The water levels are dropping pretty quick. Rumor has it, and I repeat that this is a rumor, people in the district are hearing Tuesday or Wednesday for a return to class. Again, that is just a rumor. We took a ride over by the schools this afternoon and saw that water is sitting on Tusky Valley Rd., but 212 looked dry.

Things are getting back to normal

After a long week of flooded roads, closed businesses and frayed nerves for many, things in northern Tuscarawas county are returning back to normal for some.
State Rt 212 reopened at the I-77 interchange Thursday evening which was a welcome sign for many as they no longer had to circumnavigate the back roads of east-central Ohio trying to get somewhere that normally would have taken only minutes to accomplish. Add to that, St Rt 800 from Mineral City to 7 Mile Drive also reopened giving access for those folks to get back and forth. We also found out tonight that the residents of Michael Lane have a dry road to get in and out their development too. Now all that's left besides getting the back roads dry is getting access to the schools so buses can get moving and the kids that are currently climbing the walls back into their desks.
So with things slowly getting back to normal in this dam(med) river valley, I want to thank all of the loyal readers of this blog for stopping in from time to time to get the skinny on what's been happening around here. I will continue to update as things occur. Hopefully nothing else will, but there are still unanswered questions about why this has been allowed to happen again.

Kids not going back to school for a while

I decided to take a look for anything new on the Times Reporter website, and I was greeted with this article about the kids and school.

TV schools likely to be closed next week
The Times-Reporter
Posted Mar 27, 2008 @ 05:17 PM
Last update Mar 27, 2008 @ 05:29 PM
ZOARVILLE, OH —

Tuscarawas Valley schools are likely to remain closed Monday through April 4, based on information received today at a meeting with the Tuscarawas County Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and county commissioners.

Students and parents are urged to check local media and the district Web site, www.tuskyvalley.k12.oh.us for announcements pertaining to the official reopening of school.

“Our original hope was to open school on Monday, March 31,” said Superintendent Mark A. Murphy. “We are obviously becoming increasingly frustrated and concerned about the loss of teaching and learning time for our students.

“Attempting to open schools in spite of high water and many impassable roads poses a number of risks, challenges and liabilities, including the safety of school buses, student drivers, risk of not being able to get students home, and possibly denying education to many children not able to get to school.”

Although water levels have decreased, Corps officials anticipate rainfall may cause water pools to level off or potentially increase throughout next week.

The district had established five days this week (spring break) for calamity make-up days, but circumstances prevented that. Before flooding, the district had one school day to make up due to snow and icy road conditions. An additional four days have been missed so far because of flooding.

The law requires districts to make up any school days which exceed the first five.
Murphy said because of the extraordinary circumstances, the district is pursuing assistance from state legislators and requesting relief from having to make up all the calamity days as well as flexibility with attendance requirements for graduating seniors.

In another matter, the community Information and Input meetings rescheduled for Monday and Tuesday have canceled and will be rescheduled.

- TV superintendent Mark Murphy

The article title says it all

"I-77 ramp expected to open this afternoon"

Awesome news!

Goin slow....

(Tonight's pics on Flickr)

Not much new news to report tonight. The river levels in northern Tuscarawas County continue to drop at a fairly steady pace. Unfortunately, folks just south of the dam are now affected by water in their homes. I guess there is no easy answer to this situation.
Hopefully later tomorrow the water levels will be low enough to open the interchange to I-77. It appears that it's getting close by the look of things. You can almost walk right down the center of the road to the other side without getting wet. It must also be low enough for the folks at the Bolivar Wendy's. For the past week they had posted on their sign that they would return when the water recedes. Tonight the sign reads, "See you Thursday".
Work continues in haste at the Zoar Levee also this evening. Crews continue their 24 hour a day crusade to bring in loads of dirt and gravel to shore up the eroding levee. With the water falling rapidly, hopefully their efforts will save the historic village from any further damage.

What if?

I know there has been a lot of talk over the past week about dam stability especially in light of the battle being fought in Zoar. But what would happen is the Dover Dam, God forbid, failed? I remember a few years ago the TR had an article on that scenario, but I couldn't find it this morning. Instead, I found a very detailed plan on the county's EMA website.
Click here to read about it. (Adobe Acrobat required)

Uh-oh

Hot off the presses!

The Times-Reporter
Posted Mar 25, 2008 @ 06:35 PM
ZOAR, OH —

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is continuing its interim risk reduction measures on the Zoar Levee. TAB Construction, contractor for the Corps is 60 percent complete with the initial filter placement.
To increase the level of protection, Corps officials decided to expand the area and depth of the filter blanket. The work is expected to be completed by Saturday. Corps inspectors continue to monitor the levee around the clock.
The Corps continues releases from Bolivar and Dover Dams. Water levels behind the dams continue to drop.
For more information, contact the public affairs office at (304) 399-5551 or (304) 360-1744 or visit www.lrh-wc.usace.army.mil/wc/distns.htm

This doesn't sound too good. I hope they are able to do something quick to save the town!

Great article in today's Time Reporter

Today's TR has a great article that really sums up the last 24 hours in Zoar. Take a look!

What goes up..

(Tonights pics on Flickr)

With over 24 hours of increased flow out of the Dover Dam, roads are starting to clear off. Cars are making it though the standing water that's left on Dover-Zoar Rd which is good news for folks that have to get to Dover-Philly from the north!
As stated earlier, the water that covered the bottom of North Orchard has disappeared in less then 24 hours and add to that, the water level on the 212 bridge over the river is back to about what it was Friday afternoon! So hopefully the rest of the water at the interchange will make like a tree and.....you get the drill.
Work continues at the Zoar Levee tonight. What started out as just a gravel road being built has grown into a huge project at the levee. Where once there was sandbags is now covered with dirt, and lots of it! Also in Zoar tonight, it appears that people are taking the possible evacuation to heart. Units from the Bolivar Fire/EMS are on hand in town to assist Zoar if needed. We also saw what looked like folks loading up a pickup with personal items to get them to higher ground.
We also wanted to give a shout-out to Gov. Ted Strickland for coming up to Zoar last night to see things first hand. From the lack of media attention, (the television media that was there to tape the meeting didn't even mention his presence), this was an unplanned visit without much if any fanfare. He even got turned around due to the flooding. So from the looks of it, he does have a genuine concern for what's going on in the area.
That's it for tonight. Hopefully these posts will become less frequent. Hopefully there won't be a need for these posts ever again in the future. It's my blog, I can dream.

It keeps falling!

The wife was out with the kids earlier and here is some good news. The water that was covering the bottom of North Orchard by the hotel is gone!

At 9:30 AM, the water level had fallen off to 903.99! Hopefully it will keep up this sharp drop off and get some roads back open!

“There is no need to become alarmed, our intent is that we will not allow this levee to fail.”

Read all about last nights meeting in The Times Reporter. If you ask me, I still think that there is a lot that is going on that the officials don't want to talk about yet everyone seems to know.

Overheard outside the meeting

I wasn't able to get into the community meeting down in Zoar tonight, but Denise and I were there as it let out. We learned that the ACOE has no doubt that the levee will hold. But, they are going to shore up the one area where the water is seeping through as quickly as possible. (Side note: Speaking of that, we were told that no one is allowed up on the levee road while they are working now. A truck almost hit a kid so the ACOE told the police to not let anyone else up there.) Okay, back to the goings on. We had also heard that they feel IF there is a problem with the levee, that they will have about 24 hours notice before something happens. I guess they are in the crystal ball business now too. The question had been asked why the Bolivar Dam was allowed to drain so much and the people running the meeting kept saying that they wanted to keep to the topic of the levee and not the dam. WEWS did have a camera crew there this evening, so look at the 11 o'clock news for more details.
So after we heard the news from Zoar, we went back down to the I-77 interchange area and you really can see that the water is starting to fall back off of the road. Let's keep our fingers crossed. Hopefully this won't go on as long as we once thought.

Public Meeting in Zoar tonight at 6

From The Times Reporter website:

ZOAR, OH —

TAB Construction Co., contractor for the U.S Army Corps of Engineers, will begin placing layers of granular material in an area 400 feet by 100 feet near the pump station at Zoar levee beginning today. Work is expected to continue through the remainder of the week.

In the interest of public safety, Corps officials think it necessary to begin these interim risk reduction measures as soon as possible to ensure embankment materials are not lost through increased seepage. Continued high pools in the Dover Dam reservoir have caused increased seepage at the Zoar levee.

The Corps will hold a public meeting tonight at 6 in the Old School House at Zoar to provide residents with information regarding the interim risk reduction measures for Zoar levee.

Beginning at 3 today, the Corps will increase water releases to 7,600 cubic feet per second from Dover Dam, (as of 1:30 PM, the outflow was 5775.54 cubic feet per second) the same levels released during January 2005, according to the Corps. However, because flows from Beach City Dam are being reduced, residents downstream of New Philadelphia can expect water levels to be below the National Weather Service flood stage at the New Philadelphia gauge.

The Corps is continuing to assess the situation in coordination with the National Weather Service and area authorities. Corps inspectors remain on site monitoring the levee around the clock.

For more information, contact the Public Affairs Office at (304) 399-5551 or visit the Corps’ water information Web site at http://www.lrh-wc.usace.army.mil/wc/distns.htm

– U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

If you could help

(Today's pics on Flickr)

First off, in our last post I had mentioned about the Herron family in Somerdale that lost everything in a fire yesterday and because of the high water. Well, I had read on the now disabled comment section of the article that was posted on The Times Reporter website that some fire departments were going to accept clothing donations for the family. On our way out of Zoar, we stopped in the fire station and after a couple phone calls, we found out what sizes the family could use:
Boy 31-32 mens medium
Womens size 7 medium
Womens size 3-4 small to medium
Boys 8 regular
Little girls 3T-4T
Mom is a size 12 womens large
Dad is a 36-34 Extra large
As of this time, I don't know of any one spot where donations will be accepted, but when I do, I'll post it.

In other news, there is a lot going on over at the Zoar Levee today. A long line of trucks have been seen hauling in rocks all day to the site. Upon further investigation we found that they are trying to build a small road to get heavy equipment to the bottom of the levee wall on the backside just down from the pump house. It also appears that the water level may be leveling out. Hopefully we won't get any more rain this week, but it's not looking too good towards the end of the week.

Sad news on Easter

As I awoke with the daughter this morning so she could attack her Easter Basket, I read in the Times Reporter that a family out in Somerdale lost their home yesterday to fire. What helps to make this worse is that the fire departments could not get to the fire quickly because of the water covering the road. The family had to just stand there and watch their life burn away. Then add to that the interesting comments made at the bottom of the article by others in the county. Frustrating.

Water water everywhere...

(Today's Flickr selection)

It's amazing how 24 hours can change things. According to the ACOE set, the water just keeps rising and rising. This afternoon after coming back from the "mainland" of Canton via the Bolivar Dam, we got our first glimpse of just how high the water has gotten. It's filled up the side of the road next to 212 all the way up to and covering North Orchard. 212 itself is pretty much covered with water now to 2005 levels. Dover-Zoar Rd/County Rd 82 is completely covered on the Zoar side of the bridge. Just last night around 8 pm, it was just touching the roadside and now it's covered. Pics on Flickr.
A few other notes of interest. First, as listed in the previous post, that the Zoar Tavern plans to remain open. Denise and I stopped down for a few minutes of grown up time and were talking with a few folks there. The rumor mill has it, (I know, I said I wasn't going to go with a rumor mill on here, but it did seem like a reliable source), that it's likely the kids will be out of school until the first week of April at least. I also heard that the Corps is VERY concerned about the Bolivar Dam as I had expected. Now, I really want to hear an explanation as to why we didn't hear about that from officials earlier. It's likely though that we may never though.
Happy Easter everybody.

Wow! A broken record!

In the 2005 flood, Atwood Lake set a record of 935.14 feet above sea level. As of the 9:30 AM readings today, Atwood is now at 935.55. I wish we could somehow get high aerial shots like the ones on Google Maps so that we can get a better idea as to how all the water is laying in different areas of the region. Water at Atwood is high. Water behind Dover...high. Water behind Bolivar, not so high. I know, I'm starting to sound like a conspiracy theorist sitting in my basement with a tin-foil hat on thinking the government, aka "The Man", is hiding something from us. I'm just concerned that this could have been better prevented with not so much flow out of Bolivar, but if there is a problem with Bolivar....well, another broken record.
Harrumph.

19 Action News is everywhere!

Before I get to the "fun" part of the day, here's a few quick updates:

• The Zoar Tavern was open tonight and busy! Good News! I would really hate to see that place go out because of the flood.
• The Tuscarawas Valley School District went ahead and canceled the make up classes that were scheduled for next week. The kids will have spring break as normal, but will have to make up all of these days at some point.
• Dover-Zoar Road was still open as of 8:00 PM tonight, but the water was starting to creep up on the road, so it will likely be shut down sometime overnight. Actually, I just checked on WTUZ's website and they are reporting that it is indeed shut down.
  
• An announcement went out earlier today alerting people that if the water around the Zoar and Bolivar Dams appears discolored, to not be alarmed. The ACOE is putting dye in the water behind the dams to locate the areas of seepage so that they can fix it.
• As of 5:30 tonight, the level behind Dover Dam is 903.8 ft above sea level. I wonder if we'll break the 2005 record of 907.35? Only time will tell.

With that out of the way, here is the clip where Denise and I were on WOIO. It's kinda cool seeing yourself on TV

Dover-Zoar Rd closing tonight

The Tuscarawas County EMA, aside from declaring the county under a disaster, activated the reverse 911 system again to let us know that Dover-Zoar Rd will be underwater by tonight. And I believe it. Before lunch we headed down to the bridge by I-77 and it was covered with water about half-way. Just now before coming home we stopped back down there, (approx 3 hours after being there earlier), and the entire bridge is underwater or has standing water on it. But, there are still routes out of Wilkshire Hills/Zoar. Aside from the newly constructed road to get over the Bolivar Dam, there is easy access to Rt 800 north of Mineral City by following the north leg of Dover-Zoar Rd. past Holy Trinity Church and keep going until you get there essentially. I do highly recommend staying off of Mineral City Zoar Rd unless you have a truck. It's getting pretty chewed up by all the traffic.
With continued access to the area slowly eroding away we noticed that Wendy's and The Zoar Tavern are closed. I hope this doesn't put the current owner of the Tavern out of business like what happened to the last owner with the last flood. As we were coming back from looking at the flooding on Towpath, we were waved down by a crew from Channel 19 and they ended up interviewing me. So it you're watching Channel 19 between the playoff games tonight, look for the fat man in a red coat with a Dale Jr hat on answering questions ;-) That's yours truly.
More updates later. Pictures are uploading to Flickr...as always.

I can't believe I missed this!

Thanks Zach Space for stepping up and getting the ball rolling!
From today's The Times Reporter:

In light of the flooding conditions in the Tuscarawas Valley, as well as eastern and southern Ohio, U.S. Rep. Zack Space, D-Dover, is calling on Gov. Ted Strickland to take swift action by declaring affected counties as disaster areas.

Space’s office noted Wednesday that representatives also have been in touch with the Army Corps of Engineers and Federal Emergency Management Agency pushing for a disaster designation, which would bring emergency assistance and funding to help recovery efforts in the Tuscarawas Valley.

“There is little doubt in my mind that we need disaster assistance, but that is unfortunately not my call to make,” Space said. “I am strongly encouraging Gov. Strickland to take the steps necessary to get disaster assistance to these affected areas.

“We all remember how vital disaster assistance was in the wake of the devastating 2005 floods,” Space said in a statement. “With entire communities being cut off by floodwaters, serious questions about the local infrastructure, and homes flooding, we need all the help we can get.”

Space and his staff have contacted local, state and federal authorities in an attempt to facilitate the disaster designation process.

A request from the governor, however, is necessary for FEMA to initiate action, he said.
In 2005, FEMA authorized $9.9 million in individual disaster assistance.

For more information, residents can call Muskingum Area Office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at (330) 343-3613 or (866) 502-2570 for those outside the Muskingum Watershed area.

– Office of Zack Space

Now if we could also do something about that burning landfill just north of the flood zone. Oh wait, that's probably best for another website. Life in Tuscarawas County is never dull...or even sometimes safe :-)

Time for an evening update

(More pics from tonights adventures on Flickr)

First off, welcome to all of you that have found your way here from MyFoxCleveland's website.

Didn't have a whole lot of time today to dig around for new information, actually had to do the day job thing. We did get a chance this evening to sneak out without the children to do a little exploring on our own. First stop was the I-77 interchange to see how much more the water has risen there. It's up for sure! It's very likely that by morning the bridge will be covered, at least on the far end by the canoe livery. Then we went over to Zoar to get a look at the Michael Lane area. In less then 24 hours, that road has completely covered with water and there is no possible way using a vehicle to get in or out of that area. Folks are parking in Zoar and walking over the levee and through the woods to get to their houses. That cannot be fun. One thing we also were able to check out is the water levels on Olde Orchard. Luckily, it does not look like that road will have water on them like last time so that escape route out should be clear if needed. We also went over to check the level behind the Bolivar Dam. Currently the gauge is saying 39 feet, up 3 ft from Sunday. They are still releasing water into the Tusk overflow. Still not sure why unless they are still worried about the dam.
Denise and I do want to give a couple of shout-outs:

• First, to the crew at the Bolivar McDonald's who had read the blog and stopped to say hi when they saw us out walking tonight. Denise had also learned from them that as long as they can get supplies in from other restaurants, they will remain open which is good because I will be needing my large, unsweetened Ice Tea.
• Next, to the Lawrence Township Trustee's for having enough foresight to build the "escape" route. The water is already on the lowest part of Glenpark this evening and it would be likely that that route would have been cut off by Saturday.
• Also, the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE). Granted, I don't think that they are giving the whole story why we are getting flooded out again, but they are doing a tough and thankless job for all of us in this region.
  

That's it for now. Tomorrow is Good Friday and a day off so I will be out and about once again with more updates. Stay tuned!

I think we may have gotten lucky

(You guessed it, more pics on Flickr)

After taking a drive around the valley this afternoon looking at the floodwaters, I'm beginning to think that we may have dodged a big bullet with this flood. The water, while still high, isn't getting as bad so far as many had thought. On the noon radio report, they had said the area had not gotten the amount that had been forecast. So instead of the water cresting by mid next week, they are now looking for it to crest on Easter.
The water so far has only covered the northbound interchange at I-77 and all other roads to the outside world are passable. Rt. 800 near the Zoarville area does however look like it will go underwater by the end of the day. Luckily, the Suns been out and the wind is blowing at a pretty good clip, so hopefully it will help dry up some moisture before it rolls off into the Tusk and then on to the roads. Another thing we noticed is that it appears the ACOE is doing a REALLY good job getting what water that had made it into Zoar out of Zoar.
We'll likely go out for another lap later this afternoon to see if it's gotten any deeper.

And another issue:

Zoar Levee

With the road closures, the levee hasn't been getting as much attention, which is a concern. Officials were worried in '05, and not much has been said this time.
According to WTUZ, (a fine choice for news updates!)

"US Army Corps of Engineers Officials plan to conduct routine maintenance this week at Zoar Levee to address seepage issues and also have said that they are projecting that three of the flood-reduction dams they operate - Dover, Atwood and Leesville - will set new records for floodwaters retained behind the dams."

Road Closed

It's official, St. Rt. 212 is closed at the I-77 northbound intersection. The intersection appears to be covered with water but there is yet no water on the bridge heading to it. We'll have to keep an eye on things during the day to see how high the water gets. So far, it appears to be somewhat okay for the most part.

So, you think the kids are going back to school anytime soon?

From our pals down at the Tuscarawas County Homeland Security & Emergency Management Agency, here is today's press release about the flood. Note the first sections where it says that the floodwaters are suppose to crest next week.

For Immediate Release Contact: Patty Levengood, Director
March 19, 2008 Phone: (330) 308‐6670
Water levels behind dams projected to crest next week Emergency officials were busy Wednesday morning (March 19) notifying residents and businesses about
rising water levels in northern Tuscarawas County. Early projections showed that floodwaters will crest sometime next week behind Beach City, Bolivar and Dover dams. By late Wednesday or Thursday (March 20), officials expect the village of Zoarville will be isolated for traffic and the I‐77 interchange at Rt. 212 at Wilkshire Hills will close.
Officials stressed that the Wilkshire Hills region is not expected to be isolated during the event and that Rt. 800 north of Mineral City also is expected to remain open through the crests. Tuscarawas County Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HS/EMA) officials were sending Reverse 911 telephone messages to residents and businesses in the village of Zoarville to inform them that the village will be isolated by Thursday (March 20). However, firefighters in the area have established a vehicle parking lot and walking path into the village of Tusky Valley Rd. near the railroad tracks. Firefighters encourage residents to move their vehicles to the parking area and use the walking path.
A Reverse 911 telephone message also was sent to residents and businesses in the Wilkshire Hills region to inform them that the region is expected to have access through the crests. Trustees in Fairfield, Lawrence and Sandy townships have been monitoring roads for safety and access.
An emergency connection between North Orchard Rd. (Tuscarawas County Rd. 103) and Glen Park Dr. (Lawrence Township Rd. 617) over Bolivar Dam to Gracemont and Sherman Church Rds. has opened. Trustees said they will maintain the connection road as needed. Patty Levengood, director of the Tuscarawas County HS/EMA, announced that her office would open the county’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at 1 p.m. Wednesday to assist officials and residents with information and other needs. The EOC will remain open 24 hours a day until the situation has improved.
The EOC can be contacted at (330) 308‐6655.
Downstream, increased water levels on the Tuscarawas River prompted New Philadelphia firefighters to issue door‐to‐door flood warning information to residents along 4th St. Ext. SE and Dogwood Ln. SE. Road closing information is available by calling the Tuscarawas County HS/EMA Emergency Information Line at (330) 339‐7838. Road closings also have been posted on the county sheriff’s website at
www.co.tuscarawas.oh.us/sheriff and other information will be posted as needed on the HS/EMA website at www.co.tuscarawas.oh.us/EMA.
Officials said updated information on water levels behind the area dams are available online by visiting the USACE website at www.lrh‐wc.usace.army.mil/wc/musns.htm or by using a link to that website off www.mwcdlakes.com.
Residents in the Michael Ln. area near Zoar were expected to be isolated by overnight Tuesday (March18) from the rising floodwaters behind Dover Dam.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials said total rainfall overnight Tuesday was around 1 inch in the Bolivar area and less than an inch in the Stark County area, adding to the swollen reservoirs behind Atwood, Beach City, Bolivar and Atwood dams.
The USACE operates the flood‐reduction dams in the Muskingum River Watershed, including Dover, Bolivar, Beach City and Atwood dams.
Levengood said residents will be notified of any potential isolation issues through the county’s Reverse 911 communication system, in which telephone calls are placed to individual residences, businesses and other locations with official information and warnings.
END

Quick update

Denise and I just got back from doing a lap around the area. The road closed signs have already been delivered to the bridge area of St Rt 212 by the I-77 interchange on both sides. There really is no doubt that the river will flow over the bridge later tonight. We also noticed over on Towpath Rd by the Inn on The River that the river is almost covering Towpath right there at the low spot next to the Zoar Iron Bridge. When that occurred last time people were using the parking lot for Inn on The River as a thruway and the owner decided to charge folks a buck to go through. But after local media jumped on that story he stopped doing it and instead handed out coupons for free appetizers.

That's it for now. Stay tuned.

03/19/08 Evening Update

(Today's Pics on Flickr)

I'm going to start off tonights update with calling shenanigans on the Army Corp of Engineers. During the 4, 4:30 and 5 o'clock reports on WJER radio, they had reported that the ACOE had closed all of the dams except Dover to allow for the levels behind Dover to fall. But when we drove up to the Bolivar Dam, we were greeted to thisThe Bolivar Dam is still dumping water like crazy into the lake that once was the Tuscarawas River! Which again leads me to my earlier question....what is up with the Bolivar Dam! If there is a problem, I wish they would tell us their concerns. It that dam were to breech, we would by safe, but family and friends who live on the other side of the river would likely be in a lot of trouble. Another thing to note is the ground. As I walked down to the waters edge on the grass, I was sinking into the mud. The ground is so saturated that the inch plus rain that the region had experienced today is all going to easily run off and empty into the Tusk. Especially from the north. And not only is it rain, it's now snowing at a pretty good clip up north. Here, it's still drizzle for now.
For now, we are still planning on sitting tight on the Island and see what happens.

We broke 900!

As of 1:30 EST, we broke the 900 ft above sea level mark!
As for now, the rain appears to be easing off, but there is still plenty more off to the west.
And with the rising flood waters, there is also a rising of the rumor mill activity. Everything from Giant Eagle, (the only local grocery store on the island), will close to Rt 800 will close to this will be worse then 2005 have all been heard by either Denise or myself. My opinion is for everyone just to hang tight and lets just see what happens. We're off to get some pictures of the area, stay tuned for more updates later this evening!

Reverse 911 Calls

Guest correspondent Denise here. :)

We got a voice mail message today from the Sheriff's Dept. that St.Rte 212 is expected to close today earlier than expected, at the I-77 interchange. They were quick to point out that access is still open at Glenpark Rd. over the dam, and Old Orchard Rd. and St. Rte 800 thru Mineral City.

I just got an early vacation; my place of business closed indefinitely due to 212 going closed.

Lots of rumors flying around on how long the routes mentioned above will remain open. For now, we're treating them as such. Time will tell!

Still going

As of the 9:30 report from the COE, the river is still rising. Sharply by the looks of things

Cherry Hill evacuated!

WEWS is reporting that people living in the Cherry Hill area outside of Zoar have been evacuated! Denise and I had noticed earlier that there was a bunch of cars parked next to the Zoar Hotel earlier in the day. That must have been residents from Michael Lane getting out while there was time.

CLEVELAND -- Heavy rainfall and melting snow are combining to make the threat of flooding a very real concern across the state.

Flooding is already affecting some areas of northeast Ohio. The Tuscarawas County Sheriff said that state Route 212 at Route 800 west is closed because of flooding.

Residents on Michael Lane near 212 have been evacuated because the access road to the homes is in danger of flooding.

The fire department went door-to-door telling resident to leave. Because the access road is in danger of flooding, residents who had enough supplies were allowed to stay if they chose, officials said.

The sheriff said minor flooding is also a problem throughout the county. It has forced the Tuscarawas Valley School District to close for the past two days.

This is not the first time that residents have had to deal with flooding. Tuscarawas County experienced severe flooding in 2005.

Again, why have they been dumping so much water out from the Bolivar Dam?

Big updates for 3/18/07

(Full set of today's pictures available on Flickr)

First off, thanks for unlocking my blog, Blogger! Their robots were skimming through newly created blogs and thought mine was one of a spammer. Gasp! They finally figured it out that it's for real and allowed me to start updating again. Which is cool because there is a lot going on today.
First, the Tusky Valley school district is pretty much down until further notice. They've gone ahead and canceled classes for the rest of the week.
The water level on 212 may have gone up a couple of inches since yesterday, so it's not going anywhere anytime soon.
Next, the Lawrence Township services department have been busy all day building an escape road for residence of Wilkshire Hills to use if the 212 bridge to I77 goes underwater. The new road is just up from the Masonic Temple.
As of early this afternoon, trucks filled with stone from other townships were arriving to drop their loads and head back for more.
The Cleveland media has also arrived. Channels 3 and 5 were down here today interviewing folks. About time someone noticed!
Now the big news. The rain. It's pretty much held off all day but it is still heading our way with a vengeance. Once that hits, I have a feeling it won't be too long before access out of our area will be blocked going to I-77. The water is already touching the bottom of the bridge. Even the road people were out today removing the control box for the traffic light at the interchange of the off-on ramp closest to the river. Now it's a four way stop. All over town, there is definitely the feeling that something is going to happen and its going to match the fun of three years ago.
With all the flooding going on around Zoar causing the schools to be closed and the kids having to pay in the end, I have one question that will just not go away. Why in the world are they releasing so much water from the Bolivar dam to feed the rising waters behind the Dover Dam which is causing the roads to flood? We drove up to the Bolivar Dam again today and noticed that there is still a huge volume of water being ejected from the dam just as there has been for the past few days. They are allowing the levels behind Bolivar, which have not been bad at all, to drop and in doing so, sacrifice the major roadways in this part of the county. Doesn't make too much sense to me, unless there is a problem at the Bolivar Dam that they haven't told us....yet. Last time, there was a lot of concern about the Bolivar Dam eroding away, but they kept telling us that there was nothing to fear. Has it gotten worse, I wonder? Only time will tell, but by the looks of the radar, the heavy rain in almost here. We're in for a memorable Easter Weekend I think ;-)

Today's update from the TR

Well, at least they are beginning to realize that this isn't going away.
From today's The Times Reporter:

No relief in sight - Additional flooding likely
By LEE MORRISON lee.morrison@timesreporter.com


Keith McClintock of Keith’s Towing in Mineral City pulls a car from high water Monday on Rt. 212 as his father, Art McClintock, rides on the back of truck.

T-R/Jim Cummings


ZOAR – More rain in the forecast could mean isolation for residents of northern Tuscarawas County.

“The fear up here is that we’ll return to where we were three years ago – that we’ll be trapped with no way out,” said Rev. Floyd Stanfill of Faith Baptist Church at Wilkshire Hills and a resident of Zoar.

“It’s not that bad yet, but it looks like we’re going to lose use of the” bridge on Rt. 212 over the Tuscarawas River between I-77 and Wilkshire Hills. He said the water level has to rise less than 3 feet before it’s onto the bridge.

The county Homeland Security & Emergency Management Agency issued an alert Monday that said the predicted rainfall in the Tuscarawas Valley “could produce additional flooded roadways and possibly isolate residents” in the northern part of the county “over the next several days, particularly around Zoarville and the Michael Ln. area near Zoar.”

Director Patty Levengood said officials from throughout the county met Monday to discuss potential flooding and other issues. Forecasts call for up to 1.5 inches of rain today and up to another inch Wednesday.

County Engineer Joe Bachman said several roads prone to flooding behind Dover and Bolivar dams are closed. They are County Rds. 81, 86, 89, 105, 106, 107 and 109.

County Rd. 81, Canal Rd., was misidentified as Middle Run Rd. Sunday in a story that included a list of closed roads.

Ohio Department of Transportation personnel said Rt. 212 at Rt. 800 near Zoarville is restricted to one lane because of high water.

A motorist drove around high water warning signs on Rt. 212 near Rt. 800 at Zoarville Monday at 3:19 p.m. State troopers said water was half-way up the doors of the car. A tow truck pulled the car from the water. The driver was cited for driving on a closed roadway. Troopers had to go to the area several times throughout the night for reports of people disobeying the signs.

Levengood said staff will work closely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the dams, “and provide notification to communities and residents who may be isolated by flooding,” she said.

Nick Krupa, operations manager for the Muskingum Area of the Corps, said Monday night that the pool behind Dover Dam “has about leveled off, and Bolivar and Beach City have both started to fall. We’re not discharging any significant volume from Atwood or Leesville Dam until Dover is down.

“We’re at what we call alert pool at Atwood and Leesville. That involves reading the instrumentation in the dam more frequently and conducting more frequent inspections of the dam. It doesn’t indicate any problems with the dam itself.”

He also said that while many people want him to say how high the water will go, “we really can’t make any accurate predictions until we see how much rainfall has fallen and where and that it has stopped.”

Trustees in Fairfield, Lawrence and Sandy townships are monitoring roads, Levengood said.

Lawrence Township trustees were working Monday on opening an emergency connection between N. Orchard Rd. and Glen Park Dr. over Bolivar Dam to Gracemont Rd. Corps officials said Rt. 800 north of Mineral City is expected to remain open with the current forecast.

Lawrence Township Trustee Don Ackerman said work began on Glen Park Dr. last week with digging out stumps. Monday morning work started on cutting the road in. Today, trucks from the township, other townships and the county are expected to haul stone for the road.

“Depending on the rain, we hope to have it in place this week,” he said. “It should be passable, with probably two lanes. The people won’t be stranded. The Glen Park Dr. relocation shouldn’t be needed for awhile, but we want to have it in place if it’s needed.”

Ackerman based his comments on anticipation that Rt. 800 north of Mineral City and County Rd. 82 aren’t expected to close as they did in January 2005.

“A lot of people don’t understand that last time there wasn’t a back road, county road or any road out of here,” Stanfill said. “There were 6,000 people trapped.”

Stanfill remembers that during that flood he helped get medicine or sump pumps to those in need.

“That’s why it’s more real to me,” he said. “I literally walked up and down hills to get things to people the last time.”

Stanfill noted that trustees were working on the emergency exit road.

“If we would have had that the last time, people wouldn’t have been trapped like that,” he said. “The access road that they’re cutting won’t solve the school problem, but it will allow people to get to their jobs. I’m really thankful the trustees are putting that road in.”

He was referring to Tuscarawas Valley Local Schools District being closed Monday. Superintendent Mark Murphy said there are at least seven roads that are impassable or closed in the district. School personnel said Monday night that school will be closed until further notification.

Stanfill’s main criticism: “It’s surprising how little news we hear until it actually happens. Once it happens, then you find out.”

No school again plus the quote of the day!

WTUZ's news department interviewed Nick Krupa, Muskingum Operations Manger and he gave the following quote:

Krupa says area dams are holding up pretty well, at this point, and says some repairs were recently made to the Dover Dam.

At this point!? Oh well. Only time will tell.

In other news, the school district canceled classes again for tomorrow.

24 hours of change

If you remember yesterday's posts, I had mentioned that the road by the school had closed due to the high water:
Now today, I went and took a look at the kids school district website and saw this photo:
If you look at the guardrail down by the stop sign, you can see that the water is touching the bottom of it today compared to the first picture from roughly 24 hours or so earlier. This is not looking good for the kids who have now lost another day of spring break next week.
As for the weather forecast for the next couple of days, that too is not looking all that great. 1-3 inches of rain around the area as a whole. And all that water has to go somewhere.
As of the 1:30 report, the water level is 899.18. Slowing a little, but not going down yet.

The earlier reports were true

As of the 9:30 AM reports on the Corp of Engineer's website, the water level is still going up! At 9:30 AM the water level behind the Dover Dam is reported to be 899.09 ft above sea level. That's just 8.26 feet away from breaking the record! So far no word yet if the kids will have school tomorrow. I highly doubt that they will. I am hoping to get out with the camera after I get home from work to get some new pictures and give some more eyewitness reports. Stay tuned!

Some new news

The Times Reporter is reporting that the water should crest today. That's good news, but we still have the rest of the week to deal with.

Thaw, rain put strain on rivers - Forecast offers little relief
By KATIE ALBERTI katie.alberti@timesreporter.com

Don’t expect water levels to go down anytime soon.

Nick Krupa, operations manager for the Muskingum Area of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said that’s what residents should be prepared for considering Mother Nature will be bringing more rain to the area later this week.

Although he expected the lake behind Dover Dam to crest Sunday, it did not. However, he does expect cresting today at about noon.

“It’s supposed to level off tomorrow, but it looks like a storm will be there Wednesday, Thursday and Friday bringing a total of 2.5 inches (of rain),” Krupa said Sunday night.

“If we get that, we won’t have any opportunity for the lake to lower. It should just level off a little tomorrow and start back up,” he added.

The National Weather Service at Pittsburgh reports a chance of rain Tuesday through Thursday.

The rising water already has closed several roads throughout the county, the latest being Rt. 212 between Zoar and Rt. 800, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation. Officials said they anticipate the road to remain closed for several days because of rain in the forecast.

The rising water levels in the Zoar-Bolivar area already have officials concerned, although Krupa said water at the Bolivar Dam won’t get as high as it did in 2005 when the entire area was flooded.

Those who are concerned about water levels can get up-to-date information by visiting the Muskingum Basin’s Web site at www.lrh-wc.usace.army.mil/wc/musns.htm, Krupa said. By clicking on a project, viewers can see the levels. Any marked in red signify flooding

Finally! Somone in the media is talking about the flooding!

Thanks WTUZ for at least giving a reason why the schools are closed tomorrow. Okay, we know why they are closed, we would just like a little media coverage. We've been watching the 10 o'clock news out of Cleveland for the past half-hour, you know, the "Official School Closing Station" and there hasn't been one word about school being closed or the rising water. Instead, some text messaging competition out west is more news. Harrumph!

No school for the kids on Monday

Just saw the update on MyFoxCleveland.com that the Tusky Valley Local School district is closed tomorrow. Denise had spoken to her sister-in-law earlier who had heard that many of the backroads are underwater already. So even without new precipitation the water level continues to rise from runoff upriver.
It's going to be a fun week.

Here we go again!

Well, it looks like we are in for another 100 year flood 3 years after the last 100 year flood in 2005!

The story for this blog actually starts just over three years ago during Christmas of 2004 and continued into January of 2005. Ohio had received large amounts of snow, rain and ice over a short period of time followed by a fast and furious melt which then led to major flooding along the Tuscarawas River in parts of Southern Stark and Northern Tuscarawas Counties located in east central Ohio. This flooding led to many areas of each county, along with other areas in the region, being virtually cut off due to high waters. The Wilkshire Hills and Zoar areas located in Northern Tuscarawas County became an island with no dry access to anywhere else outside of boat or helicopter. At that time, my wife and family lived outside of the flood zone and had access to the freeway easily. After a couple weeks and a whole month without school for the kids, the waters receded and life got back to normal in the area. This was deemed a "100 year event". Now, fast-forward 3 years and 2 months and we are in for it again. But this time, we now live in the area that was deemed "The Island".
The weather pattern has been slightly different for this event. Instead of a lot of weather in a short period of time we have seen a lot of weather stretched out over a longer period of time. Heavy rain, sleet, freezing rain and snow has blanketed the region over the past several weeks leading to saturated ground and swollen rivers. The straw that has finally broken the rivers back this time was a state wide blizzard with about 2 feet of snow that fell over a 36 hour period a week ago. That, followed by heavy rains and warm temperatures, has finally sent the Tuscarawas River over her banks once again and also over the major transportation arteries of the area. Namely St. Rt 212 just south of Zoar near the Tusky Valley middle and high schools. (As pictured above). Late this morning just before noon, the water had just reached the roadway. But by 4 PM, several inches of water have already covered the road. With the forecast calling for more heavy rain Tuesday and Wednesday this week and a possible larger storm over Easter. The outlook is not looking good at all.
But, at least I'll have something to write about on this blog. Stay tuned for more update from inside The Island. Because if this place gets cut off again, it's not like I can afford going somewhere to ride it out, we're staying put ;-)