St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 1

Thinking NATION Like Lawyers? Few Americans Do 2A LOCAL Scared Witness Changes Story ib SPORTS Mets Thrash Backsliding Cards ic Catch As Catch Can Treat your friends to an informal dinner of homemade cioppino, a messy dish that started as fishermen's stew filled with leftovers from the day's catch FOOD 1 v. Big A small business with not-so-small ideas is taking its expertise to Cervantes Convention Center this fall. BUSINESS PLUS 3BP STUD yini MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 1993 te mil VOL. 115 NO. 214 v.

v. 1 IS' 50 Be Prepared For 51 Feet, Corps Says By Tom Uhlenbrock Of the Post-Dispatch Staff The Mississippi and Missouri rivers surged toward a historic high Sunday, knocking out more levees along their bloated paths and threatening those that remained. Late Sunday, the rushing water knocked the Spirit of the River loose from its moorings at the foot of the Gateway Arch. The boat is commonly known as the Burger King boat. It reportedly hit the Poplar Street bridge before drifting south.

The Mississippi roared under a buckled street in Alton, shutting down the town's water plant, and sent a torrent through a levee south of Columbia, 111., carrying away farm homes, grain bins and giant oak trees as it filled 15,000 acres of the Columbia Bottoms. A third of the levee protecting Ste. Genevieve, was wiped out, and the Missouri spilled over yet another levee in the north area of St. Charles. Teams of city workers kept a close watch on the River Des Peres on the southern edge of St.

Louis and urged more evacuations. Flooding already had closed four main highway bridges and major roads, promising monumental rush-hour traffic jams for days to come. Mike Right of the Automobile Club of Missouri warned of "extremely bad" congestion. He advised motorists to start an hour early with plenty of gasoline. The National Weather Service predicted the Mississippi would crest at a record 49.7 feet this morning, but the Army Corps of Engineers said that estimate could be conservative.

"The weather service is saying 49.7, but there's still a lot of water coming down the Missouri River," said Gary Dyhouse, a corps' hydrologist. "We think it would be prudent to prepare for 50 to 51 feet." The city of St. Louis is protected to 54 feet by its patched-up flood wall. The 11-mile wall was under intense See RIVERS, Page 7 El Propane Problem: Divers work to anchor tanks. 7 A Town By Town: Damage in Missouri and Illinois.

2B Farm Fury: River demolishes farm near Columbia, til 3B Rushless Hour: Area expected to face record traffic jam today 3B St. Charles: River breaks through levee, floods 400 homes 5B Bridge Bolster: Crews strengthen levee under Mc- Kinley Bridge 5B River Steals Under Levee, Snags Alton By Carolyn Tuft Of the Post-Dispatch Staff The Mississippi River muscled its way into Alton early Sunday, flooding about a dozen downtown businesses and cutting the water supply to 72,000 customers. The water flooded the Illinois-American Water water treatment plant in Alton at 1:30 p.m. The flooding cut off power to the plant, thus stopping water service to residents in Alton, Brighton, Godfrey, Fosterburg, Elsah and other areas. "We're all fighting the pressure of the mighty Mississippi, and we'll do our best to get service back as soon as possible," said Wayne Schlosser, the plant spokesman.

See ALTON, Page 7 view Sunday morning of the Mississippi River roaring through the trees at right. Story on page 3B. near Columbia, III. The crushed farmhouse is partly visible behind 5-STAR 77 1 Jim RackwitzPost-Dispatch Kevin ManningPost-Dispatch 1 x7 Jim RackwitzPost-Dispatch elevator and covers Broadway. I.

Copyright 1993 Lnesterneia Businesses Stay Afloat By Phyllis Brasch Librach and Margaret Gillerman Of the Post-Dispatch Staff Business continued today at unusual locations for dozens of companies awash in the flooded Chesterfield Valley. Some of the estimated 500 businesses affected by floodwater found new space at a hastily subleased office building, a highway weigh station even a kitchen table. Employers scrambled to find makeshift space to keep their companies afloat. "We are starting a war effective today," Ted Liebeg, owner of Trend Manufacturing Company said Sunday. ri sJZl See BUSINESSES, Page 8 A makeshift walkway serves the a 1 rJNDEX Business Plus 1-20 BP Classified 8-14B7-12C Commentary 7B Editorials 6B Everyday 1-8D Movie Timetable 7D NationWorld 3A News Analysis 5B Obituaries 4B Review 6D St.

Louis IB Sports 1-6C --Television 6D EDITORIAL PAGE Climax For A Flood 6B ln Tuesday's Election 68 15 levee and demolishing a farm "iAfiiHllhhrtitil'iii Ph Hunter dragging a mirror Tne 'tems belong to his cousin, dds. Alton Belle Casino Sunday, as I'll I 'A1. and cooler on Sunday across flooded Fourth Street in Si Charles who lives in the Villa Roma Apartments on Fourth Street. rr i 9 A WEATHER Sunny And Cooler FORECAST Today Sunny, cooler. High 86.

Partly cloudy tonight. Low 65. TUESDAY Partly cloudy, chance of storms. High 85. Other Weather, 14B POST-DISPATCH WEATHERBIRD WKl U.K.

PAT. OtF. 091 1 1 001 1 AI.TO ir" Slut water surrounds the Alton grain i.