Gove Co. weathering rain
By MIKE CORN
GOVE -- If only today's rain had stayed away for just a bit longer.
But that was not to be, and as a result, Gove County officials will have to wait until everything dries out again to complete its reconstruction of roads that were torn apart when heavy rains fell late last month.
Rainfall amounts varied across Gove County on Sept. 24, with the greatest amount hitting 10.6 inches.
The amounts went down from there.
"Pretty good little shower," road and bridge supervisor Dave Mendenhall wryly observed.
His department has been scrambling since to repair roads washed out when the heavy rains fell.
"We hauled out right at 200 semi-loads," he said of material used to fill the washed-out roads. A 6-square-mile area was hardest hit, he said, when rains just hovered over the area for most of the night.
For Gove County, it was fortunate the road department had a rock pit virtually in the center of the hardest hit area, making for short drives for the trucks.
County officials weren't alone in repairing what Mother Nature tore apart.
Farmers as well were reeling from the harsh weather, which included plenty of hail along with the rain.
"We had 3 inches up to 10 inches," said Phil Heier, a Gove County farmer who took earth-moving equipment to the field to smooth out washed-out terraces and spots where the water rushed off the field.
"We got clobbered here with hail," he said of the area just north of Gove.
Heier said he was uncertain how much rain actually fell because hail -- the size of golf balls -- broke his gauge above the 3-inch mark.
The hail damaged crops.
"It was all white when it was through," he said of the hail-littered ground.
As a son planted wheat in an adjoining field, Heier took to the damaged field for repairs.
The heavy rain -- depending on how severely the soil crusts over -- might force many farmers to replant wheat. Some farmers simply will have to replant wheat because the heavy rain washed out the seed.
"We had about half ours planted," Heier said. "I think we'll redo most of it."
What's still not certain, however, is the extent of damage on grain sorghum crops, just now maturing.
"All of it got hit," Heier said of the almost 400 acres of milo they had planted.
It had been shaping up to be a top-notch crop, he said.
"We had good milo," he said, expecting yields of as much as 100 bushels per acre. "It's still looking good, but when you drive it, it's hit pretty hard."
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