The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

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April 27, 2009

Adjusters look at Expo Center to determine repair cost after tornado

By Robert Barron, Staff Writer

Insurance adjusters from Association of County Commissioners of Oklahoma were at Chisholm Trail Expo Center Monday inspecting damage caused by a tornado that went through North Enid Saturday night.

No estimates have been developed yet, but Steve Hobson, chairman of Garfield County Board of Commissioners, said he was told by ACCO representatives they had been told to set aside $500,000 in the insurance fund for repairs to the building. Hobson said that is common when damage occurs. He said the damage amount is not expected to top the amount set aside.

Adjusters told Expo Center employee Karen Schimon they would make a recommendation, and the company then would send an estimator to place a dollar amount on the damage. Engineers will inspect the building for structural damage to make sure nothing has been missed.

“They hope the estimators will be here by Wednesday and a priority has been placed on the building,” she said.

More than $250,000 damage was done to Northern Oklahoma Shooting Center Saturday night, but owner C.W. Quier said he can fix it.

He is happiest his dog, which lives in the center, was unharmed. Quier went to the center, which sustained severe damage from the storm, Saturday night but could not find the dog.

“Three walls were blown in, and the vacuum sucked in the walls and took the roof off, but left a ‘Smokie’ hat laying on a table,” he said.

People were shooting in the center until about 8:30 p.m. Saturday, and the twister hit around 10 p.m. The gun range is a free-standing building inside the larger metal building and was built to withstand a tornado, Quier said.

He looked all over the building Saturday night for his dog and feared him dead.

Sunday morning, Smoky turned up at the home of a customer who lives nearby.

“I just love dogs and small children,” Quier said.

He plans to put a roof over the shooting range and get it back in operation, then add a metal building to the south side of the range so he will have a store again.

The tornado created chaos with the 34th annual Enid Home Show at the Coliseum. Show promoter Janelle Martin said the show had been a success until the tornado. Vendors told her they were recording record numbers.

“We will be back bigger and stronger next year. We’ve already started working on next year’s show,” she said.

Most of the vendors told her they will return next year, Martin said.

“We were blessed it didn’t happen three hours earlier. It was a successful show,” she said.

The tornado caused damage to many houses and other buildings in the area.

Mike Honigsberg, director of Enid and Garfield County Emergency Management, estimated the tornado to be EF-1 strength, with winds of 86-110 mph.

As many as three other tornadoes were reported Saturday night and Sunday morning in Garfield County. Damage was reported in the Kremlin area. No estimate of total damage in the county has been made.

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