Pineville Deputy Marshal Chris Owens has heard how dangerous flash flooding incidents can be. Now, he can say what it's like to be in such a situation and how frightening it can be.
Owens was responding to a flooding incident involving a vehicle in Lanagan when he started to drive through some standing water. He thought it was all right to cross, but soon discovered his Humvee was quickly taking on water. He looked to one side of the vehicle and it seemed fine. Then, he turned to look at the other side and at least two feet of water was already at the door.
The Humvee then became nearly submerged in flood water in what was probably a matter of minutes. Owens stood on top of the vehicle and was rescued. The vehicle incurred about $300 worth of damage and will need about three days of cleaning, but is running fine, he reported to the Pineville City Council Tuesday night.
The Department of Defense, who gave the Humvee to the Marshal's Office, has offered to replace the vehicle with another. Owens said, however, that the vehicle should be fine after some intense cleaning.
In addition to deteriorating weather conditions and flash flooding events, the Marshal's Office also has suffered damage to another vehicle. Car No. 6 was damaged in an incident while officers were in pursuit of a suspect, the third time in the past few weeks. The insurance adjuster was on hand Tuesday and said the $5,100 in damages to the car will be fixed, Owens said. The suspect's insurance had lapsed three days before the accident. However, Owens said the suspect will face a felony charge of property damage.
City Council members also learned more details about a gas leak that occurred Friday. City crews were working near the ball field and accidentally broke a gas line. Pineville Elementary School students were evacuated and school was suspended. The gas line has since been fixed by an outside company.
In other news, Alderman Scott Dennis, who served as Mayor pro tem in Gregg Sweeten's absence, said the Planning Commission is reviewing several issues such as tiny houses, RVs, fences, and storage containers. He said members of the Planning Commission are researching other cities' ordinances about such issues. The commission is proposing to not allow storage containers on a permanent basis. Commissioners also do not want people living in recreational vehicles, but will not dictate where to park them, he said.
Other issues will be discussed at the next Planning Commission meeting. Dennis also said that City Council members will be able to review those ordinances, once they are drafted.
General News on 05/11/2017