News : Storm Damage continues to affect Benton County Residents (Video Link)

Wednesday evening, I took a trip to Van Horne, Keystone and Newhall to capture the damage to those areas. Devastating. Disastrous.Catastrophic. Any of these words sum up the destruction in the southern parts of Benton County.

For the most part the roads are clear enough to drive on throughout the county with powerlines down across the road in some areas.

In Keystone a semi was hauling debris from the town while dump trucks were being used to collect downed trees. Gahring Machine and Manufacturing lost all of their structures. ADM and Benton Grain sustained major damage. Houses sustained major damage if not from the wind from falling trees. Pickups and tractors were pulling whole trees through the street to the brush pile. When there are so many trees that need to be cut up, this was the most efficient way to quickly remove the trees.

VanHorne had at least one home which lost its complete roof and the Benton Community School sustained damage as well as damage to the fields, press box, and bleachers. The town is also without power and struggling to recover. Several homes sustained major damage.

Newhall also had major damage with several structures completely destroyed. The Dollar General sustained major damage to the front doors and sidewall. The Central Lutheran School lost its roof and also sustained major damage. Power is also out in Newhall, while the water service is operating.

In all of these towns, fallen trees lined the streets easily topping the height of the car in most locations.

All three of these towns found the neighbors helping each other and still waving at the gal driving through the neighborhood taking pictures.

Farm after farm suffered flattened barns and outbuildings, damages to the homes and most trees were at the very least topped, but more than half of them were down.

If your property is in good condition, or you have teenagers that need something to do, load them up and pick any residence between here and the southern county line, I'm sure the help won't be turned down.

To see a slideshow of some of the damage, click here. These photos are just a taste of what it actually looks like in that area, it really does not capture the loss and destruction in the area.