Ashdown city officials are bracing for what they expect will be costly repairs because of two vehicle accidents and a train derailment since October that damaged city property.
A Dec. 14 accident broke a fire hydrant and a 10-inch waterline, causing the city to lose nearly 1 million gallons of water that drained out of the overhead storage tanks.
The second accident damaged a brick-wall welcome sign and decorative fountain Dec. 9.
No specific dollar amount has been tallied on the repairs for the waterline or the welcome sign and fountain, but officials expect the amounts to be high, Ashdown Mayor Carroll Mc-Larty said.
The city can’t recover the water loss, but officials are waiting to see how much Southern Farm Casualty will pay for the damage to a fire hydrant, repairs to the waterline, the overtime costs for crews to stop the water loss and repair the damage, McLarty said.
The city also required residents to boil water over contamination fears. The city will prepare an estimate on the cost of the water loss from the two 500,000-gallon tanks.
McLarty also proposes to credit each water customer about $5 on the next water bills because people purchased bottled water after the contamination.
A Monte Carlo driven by Quishawn Dreviance Ricks,19, of Ashdown struck and broke the fire hydrant.
Ricks was cited for misdemeanor careless and prohibited driving.
The welcome sign and fountain were damaged Dec. 9 in downtown Ashdown at U.S. 71 and Main Street.
A 2011 Chevrolet pickup driven by Mindi Lou King, 37, of Lockesburg was going north on U.S. 71. King said she saw the traffic light was red and attempted to hit the brake but ending up running the light. King’s vehicle struck a 1997 Ford Ranger driven by Linda Gayle Vermeer, 41, of Ashdown.
King’s vehicle then hit a street sign and the brick wall that surrounds a water fountain.
McLarty said an estimate hasn’t been tallied for the repairs.
“The damage was pretty extensive. We may have a problem matching the brick,” he said.
Liberty Mutual was listed as the insurance company for King and Farm Bureau for the Vermeer vehicle.
The train derailment occurred Oct.18 on the northwest side of Ashdown, adjacent to the city park on the Kiamiachi Railroad line. The derailment didn’t damage the park, but heavy equipment loaded on parked tractor-trailers damaged Gordon Drive, which ends at the park.
“The trucks tore up the gravel. We can smooth that out. If we have to resurface the asphalt street, it could cost us $15,000,” McLarty said.
Arkansas, Pages 12 on 12/28/2013