Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

Can it be! 30 years flood again? They are predicting cold weather into mid-March. At that time of the year there will be no gradual warmup und the temperature will turn to the 70s overnight. The mountains are full of snow along with all the farmland, add a week of rain, a chinook in the mountains - instant flood.

Are you prepared? Is the city prepared? Hope so!

Thirty years ago there were three breakouts on the Coppei. FEMA fixed two and I told them about the third above me, but they said they didn’t have the money to fix it. Water has a way of finding weak or low spots, and at the end of the last flood it broke through the bank above me. A small stream came down the middle of the flat aimed at the first turn of the race track.

The last flood washed my bridge out. It was 30 feet wide and 10 feet tall which the Coppei filled to overflowing. A full creek will find that low spot and break out to the middle of the flat, heading toward the fairgrounds and eastern Waitsburg. Thirty years of trees falling into the Coppei, one will surely lodge in that low spot (remnants of an old branch pile still remain) and a 30 feet x 10 feet wall of water will be heading towards town.

I don’t mean to be an alarmist. I just want you to keep a close watch on the Coppei. Be Safe!

Terry Hofer, Waitsburg

PS. Does the city have an alert system? Noon whistle, group with a bull horn to alert homes, shelter, someone to watch the river movements? I know you will say “it won’t happen.” WHAT IF IT DOES?