Idiot Wind: Gahan voters rejoice as heroic street-closure rescues Reisz-Stag from litter, though not from rampant public disdain and derision.

No soiled diapers were left behind.

As Grandpa Jones always reminded us, truth is stranger than fact.

But don't worry, folks. City Hall insists that Jeff Gahan's multi-million-dollar romper room for government employees will be completed on schedule (September 2019).

Have I mentioned that David White intends to examine "wants" with an eye toward eliminating the ones that don't pass muster as "needs"?

Previously:

ON THE AVENUES: Government Lives Matter, so it's $10,000,000 for Gahan's luxury city hall clique enhancement. Happy dumpster diving, peasants!

The Reisz cost commitment already has topped $10,000,000 in a city where perhaps a quarter of the residents live below the poverty line; where Gahan and his new unofficial deputy mayor and slavish devotee David Barksdale are eager to demolish half of the city's public housing units; and where city hall has yet to mention aloud minor details like the opioid epidemic, the accompanying rise in thievery and petty crime, homelessness, and the worsening plight of our city's working poor.

The sloganeering is so oppressive that a Trump rally seems like the knitter's circle coffee klatsch by comparison.

Thank you sir ... may we have another?

Life in New Albany typically has the aura of being trapped in an Ayn Rand novel, as during any public pronouncement by the 3rd district uncouncilman, when you can imagine Dagny Taggart rolling here eyes and urging John Galt to move faster, please.

To make it even worse, today has the feeling of everyone hunkered down, waiting for the beatings to resume, and I guess that's understandable. After uncounted years of being terrified at the first snowflake's fall, now the Louisville area can fear wind just as much as wintry mixes.

The area didn't receive much in the way of coherent warnings about last September's hurricane lashings, and we were slammed. The weather fraternity actually called the January ice storm well enough, and we were slammed again.

Me? While not a gambler by habit, I'm going for the law (the maw?) of averages this time. Dire conditions are predicted, and I say we'll dodge the worst of it.

But if the wind gets really bad today, don't hold me to a higher standard than the forecasters. All I know for sure is that during a dastardly economic downturn, it's be good to hold stock in one of those generator companies .. and I'm keeping phone and computer charged just in case.

City Hall: New Albany wind storm update.

From City Hall:

New Albany Mayor Doug England briefed members of the media on the city’s wind storm recovery operations this morning.

Here are details and highlights from his press conference:

• Bottled water will be made available at no cost at four Floyd County firehouses, including the New Albany Fire Headquarters on E. Spring and E. 4th Streets. Other locations with water include: Georgetown Fire Department on Corydon Ridge Rd., Lafayette Township Fire Department on Scottsville Rd., Greenville-Galena on U.S. 150.


• Free meals will be available at the following locations in New Albany:

Wednesday – Silver St. United Methodist, 413 Silver St., 6-6:30 p.m.
Wednesday - Main St. United Methodist, 516 W. Main St., 5:30-6:00 p.m.
Thursday – Centenary United Methodist, 309 E. Spring St., 6-7 p.m.
Friday – St. Paul’s Episcopal, 1015 E. Main St., 6-7 p.m.


• The following New Albany-Floyd County School Corporation facilities will be open for showers:

Highland Hills Middle School
Wednesday 4-8 p.m.
Thursday 7-10 a.m. and 4-8 p.m.

Hazelwood Middle School
Wednesday 4-8 p.m.
Thursday 7-10 a.m. and 4-8 p.m.

Citizens should be reminded to bring their own towels and toiletries.


• The city’s temporary drop-off locations from vegetative waste – limbs, trees, branches, leaves and wood – remains open at the old Farmer’s Market located on Scribner Dr. between W. Oak and W. Elm Streets, across from the New Albany Little League baseball fields. The site, which is being regulated by a traffic officer from the city’s Police Department, is open to all New Albany residents.


• City forces have cleared all streets and alleyways of debris, except in locations where power lines remain entangled with trees. The city has been communicating these problematic sites on a regular basis with Duke Energy. Portions of approximately 10 streets remain blocked or closed, Street Commissioner Mickey Thompson estimated. (A separate e-mail will be distributed with current street and alley closures.)


• Property owners with damage to their residence should not only notify their insurance agent, but also Floyd County Emergency Management. Terry Herthel, the agency’s director, said compiling this information will help in their efforts to qualify Floyd County for federal funding and assistance. Citizens can call Herthel’s office at (812) 948-5454.

City Hall: Street closing update.

From Matt Denison, Assistant Director of Operations:


...here is an updated list of streets and alleys still closed in New Albany because of power lines entangled in trees or low-hanging wires.

1. Dewey St. between E. 15th and E. 16th St.

2. Near the intersection of Elm St. and Beharrell St.

3. Intersection of Crestview and Old Vincennes Rd. (two trees)

4. Alley between E. 10th St. and E. 11th St. between E. Spring St. and E. Market St.

5. Near intersection E. 11th St. Greenaway. (should be open within the next hour)

6. Intersection of Jackson St. and Hildreth Ave.

7. Alley between W. 9th St. and W. 10th St. off Cherry St.

8. Green Valley Rd. between Gordon Dr. and Greebriar Dr.

9. Alley between Beeler St. and McClain Ave. and between McDonald Ave. and Korb Ave.

10. Virginia Ct. between Spring Ave. and E. Elm St.

NABC still closed on Tuesday. When will we be back?

When Duke Energy gets to us, I guess. Must not be any good beer fans there (just teasing!)

Obviously, no juice at work = no food and warm beer, so until the electricity's back, we're on enforced break. As for me, if there's juice at the airport, I'm off for the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. There's plenty of good beer there.

Stay tuned. Bluegill will update the situation. See you in two weeks.

City Hall: Where to put (and where to take) wind storm debris.

From City Hall:

The Mayor's office has been contacted by several interested citizens who would like to volunteer their assistance in cleaning up the storm damage strewn about the City.

The Mayor has indicated that anyone wishing to volunteer should focus their efforts in their own neighborhoods. Storm debris - limbs, trees, and other refuse - should be placed at curbside or five feet back from roads without curbs.

If anyone wants to haul yard waste to a dump site, they should take this material to the designated temporary storage site at the old Farmers Market on Scribner Drive between W. Elm Street and W. Oak Street across the street from the New Albany Little League field. Please, only yard waste - limbs, branches, leaves, wood - should be dumped at this site!

Mayor England appreciates the effort of all volunteers and cautions all volunteers to emphasize "safety first".

Thank you.

Carl E. Malysz

It's an insurance claim Monday, New Albany.

Let's hope you have some. Electricity, too ...

The power has been out at NABC/Rich O's/Sportstime since early Sunday afternoon, so I'm guessing our chances of opening today are slim. If the juice comes back on soon, we may be back in action serving beer tonight, but food deliveries don't come until tomorrow, and the beer (although unharmed) is currently warm.

I like it that way, though not everyone does.

The beer in the temperature-controlled brewery fermenters is another matter, and we'll have to play that one by ear.

Property damage from yesterday's Hurricane Ike aftershocks looks to be extensive, though not expensive in most cases, with many trees and limbs down, and shingles blown off rooftops. A few houses weren't so lucky, and as Diggin' In the Dirt reported on Sunday, several prominent New Albany landmarks took big hits from the gusts. Fortunately, injuries and deaths appear to be few in our region, and for that we're all thankful.

Any thoughts? Post 'em. The thread will remain open the remainder of the day as clean-up proceeds and I make ready for Benelux beercycling (departure Tuesday).

I'd still rather be here than Texas.

6:40 pm update - Ann has the photos here ... and as she says, it's a mess

I just received a text message with a photo of the steeple at St. Mary's on the corner of Eighth and Spring. The wind's knocked it cockeyed -- still attached, but it appears to be precariously.

That explains the sirens. I'd go look, but there's debris aplenty in the back yard, including tree limbs and two collapsed fence sections.

And yes, I'm very glad we got our dying tree down on Thursday before the Ike remnants hit.