Compiled by LAUREN DONOVAN, Bismarck Tribune

Hettinger auto dealer Gregg Jacobson had just made a sale and yet another satisfied customer was about to depart R-Z Motors.

Then, a terrible thing happened.

On July 21, Hettinger got pummeled with the worst hailstorm in anyone's memory.

That previously satisfied customer? His car got pummeled before he could leave, along with more than 100 new and used vehicles in the R-Z Motors lot.

Jacobson was left with row after row of vehicles dinged and banged and many with windows smashed out.

"This is pretty much a disaster," Jacobson said. "I was sick to my stomach for a while."

He waited, along with a lot of Hettinger residents, for his insurance adjuster to show up.

His certainly wasn't the only disaster. Crops were damaged, too.

A Farm Services Agency representative went on a crop tour after the storm and the results weren't good. Crops of wheat, corn, oats, barley and hay sustained anywhere from 50 to 100 percent loss in a 10-mile radius around Hettinger.

Homes, trees and gardens in and around Hettinger were damaged in the hail. At the courthouse, 17 windows were broken out and another 11 windows were smashed by hail at the nursing home.

Jim Fors, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the late afternoon storm resulted from a relatively weak system, combined with the day's heat and unstable air.

Adams County Sheriff Eugene Molbert said warning sirens are used for tornado and strong wind alerts. He said he heard a storm was in the vicinity, "And then, bam! It was here."

- Bowman County Pioneer

Concrete accomplishment

Mark Dettling and employees have made nearly 5,000 trips from a batch plant in New Town out to the new 4 Bears Bridge under construction at New Town.

He's not complaining, because those trips all have been moneymakers.

In fact, they add up to the job of a lifetime.

Dettling's company - Watford City Ready Mix - has provided more than 30,000 cubic yards of "liquid rock" to the bridge construction. Dettling said all seven cement trucks have been making hauls over the past two years, and the trick has been to get each truck to the right spot at the right time.

He said sometimes, the trucks that left the automated batch plant at New Town needed to be in 17 different locations at the bridge at the same time. Somehow it all worked out, and less than one-half of 1 percent of the loads were rejected for failure to be dumped within an hour and a half.

For months, the crew worked from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., hauling concrete to the bridge construction site, and some of the haul trucks are just about worn out.

Dettling said he was careful about where he acquired materials for the concrete, since it tends to get whiter and harder with age. He wanted the bridge to have a uniform look in materials to go with its state-of-the-art, modern and clean design.

The project requires less than 500 more cubic yards at this point and is expected to be open to traffic sometime this fall, after starting construction in February 2003.

"This project was a learning curve for everyone," said Dettling. "I was excited to do it, excited to get it done and now sad when it is about to be over."

- McKenzie County Farmer

No pool fools

People in Linton didn't flinch at the idea of spending more than a half million dollars to repair the town's swimming pool.

The pool was built in 1956 and is leaking some 2,000 gallons of water every day it's open.

About 30 people attended a meeting to talk about renovating the structure.

No one objected to the estimated cost of $529,000 to fix problems with drainage, plumbing, filtration and concrete decking.

They did talk about where the money would come from.

Mayor Melvin Jahner said 60 percent of voters would have to approve a general obligation bond to pay for the pool improvements and the bonds would be repaid with a property tax over a 10-year period.

Another idea would be to levy an additional 1-cent sales tax, which would repay the project in less than 10 years.

Either way, Jahner said an election will have to be held in October to decide on funding if construction is to go ahead in 2006, so the pool can be used again in 2007.

In the meantime, the city will look into grant options and start a fundraising drive.

- Emmons County Record