Severe thunderstorms which rolled through Buchanan County Friday evening resulted in some road washouts, downed trees and minor flooding in the county.
   One of the areas hardest hit by the storms was in South Grundy on Jim Rowe Hollow where the road washed out leaving several families trapped for several hours, according to Buchanan County Sheriff Ray Foster.
   In the Town of Grundy, Slate Creek stayed in its banks, but washed over much of the work the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contractor, TAB Construction, completed last week on the ringwall. Sediment control fences were washed down and had to be replaced and an earthen and rock platform in the creek had to be repaired as well.
   At the University Plaza Shopping center, water rushed out of the mountain behind the plaza building and resulted in minor flooding in several of the stores there.
   The sheriff noted other areas of the county also suffered storm damages including Poplar Creek and the Big Rock area where downed trees were the major problem.
   On Jim Rowe Hollow, Foster said it appeared the ditch line had stopped up and overflowed, along with the creek.
    “The whole hollow came down the road and took the road with it,” Foster said.
    County Road Engineer Marcus Stiltner noted repairs to the road were on the agenda for discussion Tuesday night during an emergency meeting of the Buchanan County Coal Haul Road Committee. The results of that meeting were not available at press time.
   Stiltner said approximately three-tenths of a mile of the county roadway was affected by the washout.
   He noted some sections of the road have been eaten away on both sides.
   “The road had been overlaid and it ate the overlay off,” Stiltner said.
   South Grundy Supervisor Roger Rife said it appeared the washout had occurred after trash and debris farther up in the hollow washed down in the heavy rain and stopped up the ditchlines, causing the water to come out in the road.
   “The water was as high in the ditchline as it was in the creek,” Rife said.
    He noted that repairs to the road which will be needed include building the road back up and putting down new stone along the shoulders.
    Rocklick Supervisor David Ratliff, whose district was also hit by the storm, said Rocklick residents were lucky enough not to be in the worst part of the storm.
    He said some maintenance on the roads recently completed in his district had resulted in several roads which might have been in jeopardy in a heavy rain situation to avoid any problems.
    “We lucked out on that end of it,” Ratliff said.