St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 4

4A ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 1993 River Forecast: It'lLBe 'flan High Until Mid-JulyJ i CI ShSLn church boats the Robert E. Lee, Huclt FiBn.SomTSawyer $id Becky Thatcher. The two gambling boats on this part of the Mississippi, the Alton Belle in Alton and theTasino Queen at Easf St. Louis, are both operating, but the latteris not cruising.

1 On Monday, rising water stopped traffic on the Mississippi from north of St. Louis to MinnesotaTpara'lyzirtg muclrof the barge traffic. It marks the third time this year the CofVs of Engineers has closed the Mississippi. The Coast Guard is considering an order to proh'rbit pleasure boats from coming into the VP Fair area of fhe Mississippi during the fair. An announcement will be made today.

The expected crest in St. Louis on Sunday would come before the deluge from the north reaches here: That iJill arrive in St. Louis around July 10, Rapp said. And, he added, we should barely The Upper Mississippi water will be somewhat offset by the low level of the Missouri River," which spills into Mississippi south of Alton. "The Missouri River flows are forecast to be significantly below flood stages at that time, so (the Mississippi at) St.

Louis will continue to fall," Rapp The northern floodwater will, however, drag out fi5w long the flood remains here. "It will take a long timeto drain out," Rapp said. The flood may be further extended by additional rairuA chance of rain is forecast for St. Louis and throughout the Upper Mississippi Valley through Thursday, accordingto the National Weather Service. By Linda Eardley Ot the Post-Dispatch Staff Flooding in the Upper Mississippi Basin will keep the river high for a while in the St.

Louis area but not as high as it was this spring. "We're looking probably at St. Louis being above flood stage at least through the middle of July," said Jerry Rapp, hydraulic engineer for the Corps of Engineers. "I'd say two or three weeks without additional rain. And it's supposed to rain all week." On Tuesday, the river stage of the Mississippi at St.

Louis was 31.4 feet 1.4 feet above flood stage. The high point is expected to be 33.2 on Sunday, the Fourth of July. The river crested this spring at 36.4 on April 18. The predicted crest could mean six inches to a foot of water on Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard during the VP Fair this weekend.

On Tuesday, Sullivan Boulevard along the downtown riverfront was partly underwater. The foot of Washington Avenue was shut off. The restaurant boats were barely in business with their gangplanks stretched to the maximum. The cruise boats were sidelined and providing only private parties dockside. A few tourists dotted the sidewalks, their heads craned up to look at the high-sitting boats.

Tom Dunn, director of operations of Gateway Riverboat Cruises, said this flood, on the heels of the 47-day flood in April and May, is "getting to be a real pain." If the water gets too high on Sullivan Boulevard during the VP Fair, Dunn may be unable to get customers to his Karen ElshoutPost-Dispatch rr- 7,8 Christopher Rhone, 9, watching the Mississippi lap at 5-year-old Zachary McFerren's sneakers Tuesday on Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard. The boys were on a YMCA field trip from Bel-Nor. 1 1 't Flood 1 --'W jm vi' v. ,7 '41 above us, focused the heaviest rain over the Midwest.

Rain over the area that drains into the Missouri River hasn't sent that river into the same flooding as the Mississippi, said Al Dutcher, a climatologist with the High Plains Climate Center in Lincoln, Neb. The main problem has been flash flooding in North Dakota and South Dakota, Dutcher said. On the bright side, rain is re-charging parched reservoirs along northern reaches of the Missouri River, he said. In Iowa, officials began evacuating 80 homes in Davenport, fearing that the river would flood the city. U.S.

Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy was scheduled to tour flood-ravaged farms across the state today. Giant lakes cover much of southwestern Minnesota, said Dave Huggins, a soil scientist with the University of Minnesota's Southwest Experiment Station in Lamberton. Huggins flew an airplane over the area last week. About 20 percent of the land was covered with water, he said. Cold weather has stunted corn and soybean plants.

"The crops aren't looking good at all right now," he said. "If we get an early frost, we're going to be in a lot of trouble." From page one said Kenneth Kunkel, director of the Midwestern Climate Center in Champaign, 111. "Most places in these parts of the Midwest have been 50 percent above normal, and some have had two to three times normal rainfall," he said. "We entered springtime in most parts of the region with saturated soils, so there hasn't been any place for that water to go except run off," he said. And like a bathtub with the shower running, the water eventually wends its way in rivulets toward and down the drain.

In this case, the drain is the Mississippi River. Some of the storms that produced heavy rain moved across the Midwest from the West Coast. Others were created by a high-pressure system off the East Coast that like horses on a merry-go-round swung batches of moist air north from the Gulf of Mexico. The jet stream, a fast-moving stream of air several miles Apartments Left In Dark Over Repairs By Lia Nower Of the Post-Dispatch Stafl Many residents of Village Royale Apartments in south St. Louis County were steaming Tuesday after lightning struck twice in almost the same place.

Monday evening, lightning hit both a Union Electric Co. transformer and a cable at opposite ends of the complex, south of Interstate 270 on Tesson Ferry Road. About 140 of the 196 apartments lost electricity. Power was not fully restored until about 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Union Electric officials said about 40,000 people in the St. Louis area were powerless Monday night as a result of two storms that caused the largest outage in two years. "You don't think about how many motors you have in your life until something like this happens," said Craig Lister, who lives in Village Royale. Lister, an independent music publisher, said his electricity went off about 6 p.m. Monday.

He couldn't use his phone an electricity-powered portable and he hadn't stocked up on candles or flashlights. "I filled the tub with all the hot water that was left and took a very long bath," he said. Then he sat in the dark in his spare bedroom and played classical music on his harpsichord. Lister's neighbor, Mary Lutz, walked outside with her dog to avoid the indoor heat. She said she had plenty of candles, but the stockpile of food in her freezer was thawing fast.

"The worst thing is not being able to make coffee in the morning," Lutz Scott DinePost-Dispatoh Craig Lister, a resident of Village Royale Apartments in south St. Louis County. Lightning Monday evening cut power to apartments there. Lister played his harpsichord in the dark. Same Old Soggy Story For Grafton 'There Isn't Any End To Laments Flood-Weary Resident Voss said.

Lightning hit transformers machines that convert high voltage electricity from cables into low voltage power for homes and ruined the connectors that make the switch, he said. Lightning also traveled 'ttown Iiftes and blew holes in sections of underground cabler he-gaidTTiTTlnd "the defective sections, Voss said, workers had to discharge electricity into the cables, then track it for miles above ground to find the defective sections. That takes nearly fa fay tocfrmplete, Voss said. "A lot of peopje donjunderstand what goes into this," Vks saii "Sometimes, it takes between 18 'and 26 hours to fix." said. "And it was weird my husband and I had to have a friend give us a wake-up call in the morning." By Tuesday afternoon, Lister's apartment was still steamy, and Lister was steaming.

"This is outrageous," he said. "What could be taking so long?" Tom Voss, an operations manager for Union Electric, had an answer. He said the company expects about two bad storms a year to damage equipment that services about 15,000 residents. Normally, company workers need only a couple of hours to divert power from one cable, damaged by wind or lightning, to another that "loops" around subdivisions and apartment complexes. But Monday's storm was different, VP Fair Likely To Stay Off Sullivan Boulevard By Charles Bosworth Jr.

Of the Post-Dispatch Staff Grafton residents are still weary from the floodwater that besieged them earlier this spring. So the prospect of another assault by the Mississippi is almost too much to bear. But they're doing it. "I haven't seen my yard in six months," Mike Ridder said Tuesday as the river chased him out of his home for the second time. "There isn't any end to it." Ridder, 31, needed a boat to haul his belongings down to a couch, a microwave, his Labrador retriever and her 12 puppies out of his elevated bungalow as the water lapped halfway up the walls of the basement again.

He had moved back about a month ago and was planning to make repairs to the walls and floors ruined by the flood. A friend will put him up temporarily, and Ridder vowed to return as soon as possible. While Ridder and other residents were trying to deal with the water, Grafton's officials were resuming daily flood meetings to keep residents informed. Mayor Gerald Nairn said a revised and lowered forecast for a river crest on July 8 was welcome, but did only a little to buoy the spirits of residents who faced the rising waters again. "I know I'm sick and tired of it," Nairn said quietly after the meeting Tuesday afternoon.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at St. Louis predicted a crest of 26.2 feet on July 8, two feet below the 28.3-foot high point of April 23. Nairn said the city could handle the lower level pretty well. It would slosh four to six inches of water over the intersection of Illinois Route 3 and Route 100, known as the Great River Road, but it would not block it or close down the town again.

It might not even require officials to reopen the flood road that circumvents Route 100 by cutting across private land. Looking toward the July 4 weekend an important period for tourism in Grafton Nairn said he hoped everyone realized that the town remained open for business. Shoppers in antiques stores and diners at restaurants are important to the town's economic health, which al ready has been damaged severely this spring. Brenda Dublo at the Corner Market feared that the rising waters would scare off the hungry buyers who usually clean out her fresh produce. She lost her spring flower sales to the first flood and now worries about the effect of the returning waters.

"We've got 12 acres of strawberries, and eight acres of blackberries and raspberries in, and the peach trees are ready," she said. "I'm afraid the people will think we're closed and won't come out. Half of our business is from St. Louis, and they don't know they can still get here. This is going to be a nightmare for the orchards.

It's definitely going to hurt. It couldn't happen at a worse time." The Salvation Army and Red Cross have returned to Grafton, and representatives assured residents at the meeting Tuesday that the groups would do all they could. They already are arranging to deliver hot meals to town and to deliver the residents to emergency shelters in Alton. Charles Schwaab, head of the Salvation Army disaster program in the Alton area, said he brought in 30 meals Monday night, marking his return to Grafton after spending weeks there earlier. He can see the strain in people's faces and hear it in their voices.

"The people are a lot more on edge this time," he said. Even some longtime residents are feeling the frustration. Erma Stock, 73, has been watching the Mississippi River reclaim the back yard of the home where she has lived for 53 years. It was only three weeks ago that the waters receded. "It never did go all the way back in the banks again," she said.

"I hadn't moved everything back to the basement, but I had put my water heater back. I had to jerk it out again." She said she would stay in the house, riding it out just as she did before. She expects the new flooding to surround her home again, but not get as deep in the basement. Fortunately, she said, she had a warning not to think the flooding was over. Her 92-year-old mother another lifelong Grafton resident had cautioned her: "It ain't done yet." until 6 a.m.

Tuesday. Chestnut will provide the only downtown access to westbound 1-70 in Friday's rush hour. Walnut, closed at southbound Memorial Drive, will serve as the only route to eastbound I-70, southbound 1-55 and westbound Interstate 44. Curt Stevenson of the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department said he doesn't expect the fair changes to affect highway traffic. "We close Memorial Drive anyway because of all the pedestrians," he said.

"I suspect local people are familiar with the streets that are closed. The only people who might be affected are those coming in from out of town." The following streets will be closed from 10 a.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Tuesday: Southbound Memorial Drive from Washington Avenue to Walnut Street. Northbound Memorial Drive from Poplar to Chestnut streets.

The Memorial Drive exit off Interstate 70 at the Poplar Street Bridge. The Pine Street exit off east-bound 1-70. Poplar Street from Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard to Memorial Drive. The stadium exit off northbound Interstate 55.

At 6 p.m. Friday, the remaining stretch of Memorial Drive from Chestnut to Washington will close Organizers of the VP Fair said Tuesday that the flood-induced move of some attractions may become permanent. The rising Mississippi River prompted officials this year to move games and amusement rides from soggy Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard to Poplar Street and Memorial Drive. "We decided to go with Plan because of the rise in the river," said fair chairman Mark Wetterau.

"But we anticipate the move west will be a preview of next year's fair." Wetterau said the migration from Sullivan Boulevard may become permanent because because Memorial Drive is closer to parking and offers more space. GM Cities In Wisconsin, Iowa Fighting High Water PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, Wis. (AP) -The Mississippi River slowly invaded low-lying areas of the city Tuesday as it crested nearly 6 feet above flood stage. Residents barricaded homes and businesses with 20,000 sandbags and began waiting out what is expected to be days of high water. "I feel like I'm in Venice," said Betty Landgon, who just a few days built, and the assembly line is, expeHed jo more slowly.

GM built just 18,000 full-size vans at its Flint, plant last year, compared with the 157,000 cars built at Wentzville. GM's supplemental unemployment program guarantees laid-off workers 95 percent of their after-tax, take-home pay for up to two years, but that expires with the union's contract in September. It is certain to be an important issue during contract negotiations. GM says that of the several thousand people furloughed from Wentzville in the 1990s, about 400 tp jo have taken advantage of a program that allows them to takejobs at GM plants in Michigan. The workers losing their jobs at Inland Seat are eligible for job reassignmentand supplemental unemployment benefits.

The company will disclose virtually nothing about Wentzville's new van, other than it will the full-size vans now sold under several naptfiyoVJujifrig the GMC Rally Vandura. The current van has been unchanged since 1971, an extremely long time for a vehicle to remain in production without major modification. If the new van is anything likeits predecessout wilj be large and heavy. Ct GMC Vanduras, for example, to 900 pounds, depending on engine and licS50rtf33Sdelsjare more than 18 feet long. Development and government officials are hoping the vans will have an economic impact equal to their curb weight.

House Majority Leader Richard.A. among those working to keep the plant operating. Gephardt, D-St. Louis County, said Tuesday: "I'm really very, very gratified that General Motors has decided to keep Wentzville open and operating. It's to the credit of the employees there and the managers-there who have produced such high qualityt'r "Production at the plant is virtually guaranteed well into the next century, and St.

Louis' dominance as a producer of vans will continue," said Ned Tad(Jeucci, president of the St. Louis Regional Commerce and Growth Association. The association estimates that for each plant, another job is generated in the "Last February, Ford announced' it Explorer sport utility vehicle at that facility," Taddeucci said. "AH this, plus Chrysler's decision to buUd.U generation of minivans beginning in 1996, solidifies St. Louis' status as From page one profitability.

Because plants compete intensely for new vehicles, automakers often demand that employees change the way they work and make other concessions. But that didn't happen at Wentzville, according to the union and the company. Camp said GM assigned the van to Wentzville because the passenger cars it built there, the Buick Park Avenue and the Pontiac Bonneville, rate highly in the J.D. Power survey of auto quality. Although the cars have not been selling especially well, critics have praised their construction.

"The nature of the union-management relationship has been another key factor," Camp said. Labor relations at the plant have been relatively calm in recent years. GM did not demand any union concessions or changes in work rules as Ford Motor Co. did before assigning the Explorer to its plant in Hazelwood or Chrysler Corp. did before assigning the next generation minivan to its plant in Fenton.

"There has been no official negotiations or changes in the work rules," Camp said. "We don't anticipate beginning that." The union agrees. "The company did not demand givebacks," said Steve Waymon, an official with UAW Local 2250. "We wouldn't have'gone that route anyway." Waymon said that workers at the plant were pleased they had gotten the van but that they still faced prolonged unemployment and for many, no guarantee of a job in 1995. Last week GM laid off 1,800 workers at Wentzville as it ceased production of the Pontiac Bonneville, which is moving to a plant in Michigan.

About 2,000 workers are still on the job, but they will go on layoff later this year as production of the Buick Park Avenue is moved to Michigan. Some workers will be called back to help retool the Wentzville plant for production of the vans. At its peak in the 1980s, Wentzville had 5,000 workers. GM said that fewer workers were needed to build the van because it was simpler to build than the cars Wentzville ago worried that her now-submerged watermelon patch wasn't getting enough water. High water has closed a 500-mile stretch of the river to commercial traffic.

Flooding was blamed for the death of an 11-year-old girl who drowned while wading near LeCenter, Minn. The river peaked Tuesday, but was expected to drop only a few inches during the next two days, said John Seemann of the National Weather Service in Minneapolis. States of emergency were declared in parts of Wisconsin and disaster areas were declared in Iowa. Both states called out National Guardsmen. The weather has been devastating for many farmers.

The corn crop is behind in several states, and some farmers may not get a crop in at all. Governors of Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois are seeking federal aid for farmers. Storms in Iowa Monday night and Tuesday morning caused a creek in Fort Madison to roar over its banks, washing away cars, including six new police cars set for delivery to Clinton on Thursday. National Guard troops were on standby in Davenport, Iowa, where flooding closed several streets. In Illinois, flooding forced the state Transportation Department to close some roads, including U.S.

Route 6 between Annawan and Atkinson. Purchase or Refinance CoVm 15 Year Fixed 30 Year fixed fiJixM APR APR APR V) Maximum Loan Amount $203,150 rttM are subject lo chinas without notice APR bated on 80 t.T.v. $100,000 loan amount. Call for special rates for conventional and FHA loans with no closing costs and 0 Points. West County American 441-3889 or 579-0660.

a major auto manufacturing center.