Assignment #2
Hoosick Valley Dodges Flooding from Recent Storms
The storms over the last few weeks have caused widespread flooding throughout the Northeast, but the Hoosick Valley was spared serious problems. This was in sharp contrast to the high water and flooding caused by the storms last October, which resulted in the drowning death of two in the Hoosic River last year; 6-year-old Michael Hackett and his mother’s boyfriend, Bob Scanlon. Michael, along with his older brother and cousin had gone to the bridge overlooking the Hoosick River Falls to look at the swollen river; when Michael slipped and fell in Scanlon jumped in to try and save the boy. Their bodies were found downstream the following day.
Many of the relatives of Michael Hackett gathered on July 4th in North Petersburg to celebrate the 90th birthday of Connie Waitekus, his great-aunt and matriarch of the family. The event was held at the home of her son, John Waitekus, which sits by the bank of the Little Hoosic river, a tributary which feeds into the Hoosic river a mile to the north. Michael’s father was there; he was serving with the National Guard in Iraq when his son drowned last fall and was sent home in time for the funeral. So was Michael’s older brother, who had been with him last October when he slipped and fell into the river.
John’s cousin and neighbor, Gina Roberto Bush, pointed to the edge of the back lawn at a set of steps leading down the bank to the river. “Last fall the water was just over the top of the steps.” The lower half of her backyard, which sits closer to river level, was completely submerged at that time. The water level of the river rose to the top edge of the Webster Road bridge road surface, just a few hundred feet to the north.
The Little Hoosic river, while higher than normal for this time of year, was far below the levels of last October. But even the modest rise caused a few problems. According to John’s girlfriend, Pam, he was trying to cross the river in his ATV the previous week, but managed to get stuck in the middle. A neighbor had to come to his rescue with his own ATV which had a winch. It wasn’t a serious problem, but it highlighted the potential dangers that any unusual rise in the water level can cause.
The storms over the last few weeks have caused widespread flooding throughout the Northeast, but the Hoosick Valley was spared serious problems. This was in sharp contrast to the high water and flooding caused by the storms last October, which resulted in the drowning death of two in the Hoosic River last year; 6-year-old Michael Hackett and his mother’s boyfriend, Bob Scanlon. Michael, along with his older brother and cousin had gone to the bridge overlooking the Hoosick River Falls to look at the swollen river; when Michael slipped and fell in Scanlon jumped in to try and save the boy. Their bodies were found downstream the following day.
Many of the relatives of Michael Hackett gathered on July 4th in North Petersburg to celebrate the 90th birthday of Connie Waitekus, his great-aunt and matriarch of the family. The event was held at the home of her son, John Waitekus, which sits by the bank of the Little Hoosic river, a tributary which feeds into the Hoosic river a mile to the north. Michael’s father was there; he was serving with the National Guard in Iraq when his son drowned last fall and was sent home in time for the funeral. So was Michael’s older brother, who had been with him last October when he slipped and fell into the river.
John’s cousin and neighbor, Gina Roberto Bush, pointed to the edge of the back lawn at a set of steps leading down the bank to the river. “Last fall the water was just over the top of the steps.” The lower half of her backyard, which sits closer to river level, was completely submerged at that time. The water level of the river rose to the top edge of the Webster Road bridge road surface, just a few hundred feet to the north.
The Webster Road Bridge. The picture above illustrates the normal water level. The one below was taken during a storm surge in January, 2006. In October 2005 the water level was several feet higher, to the level of the road surface. [photos: Erwin Bush]
posted by Erwin Bush at 9:39 AM
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