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Thursday, October 19, 2000
Reporter-News wades through
flooding crisis
By Bobby Horecka
Reporter-News Staff Writer
Signs remain, but a Wednesday
visitor couldn’t fathom the crisis endured at the Abilene
Reporter-News just 24 hours before.
Heavy rains inundated the building’s
roof and sent water gushing into the newspaper’s downtown
building Tuesday, soaking carpets, dousing machinery and flooding
entire portions of the building.
Power was killed, some people
were sent home and most company management fretted over how to
print the next day’s edition.
But newspapers were delivered
Wednesday, plastic-wrapped on doorsteps all over the region —
slightly smaller than usual, but there nonetheless.
“We’re just all grateful
that no one suffered any major losses — to life and limb
— both in the community and here at the newspaper,”
editor Terri Burke said. “I must confess that based on what
I saw yesterday, I didn’t think we were going to be able
to do it. But we managed to come through just fine.”
On Wednesday, the only clues
to the hectic day before were a few downed ceiling tiles, some
new carpet stains, a musty aroma and many tired faces.
Halls were still dark and empty
in the newspaper’s circulation department, pending safety
inspections.
The mailroom, where the newspaper
is packaged for delivery each day, was one of the areas hardest
hit by the downpour. The day after, no one would notice anything
had gone wrong, production manager Herb Chabek said.
“It took incredible efforts
from an incredible staff to put this all back together as quickly
as we did,” Burke said.
Teamwork was the key to success,
Chabek said.
“We had everyone —
graphics folks, advertising, pressmen — everyone working
side by side last night (Tuesday) to make sure it came together,”
he said. “You hear that people pull together in times of
disaster. Last night I got to see it.”
Contact staff writer Bobby
Horecka at 676-6737 or horeckab@abinews.com.
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