August 2007 windstorm
On Thursday, 23 August 2007, wind gusts up to 70 mph downed trees around campus, damaged Conger-Neal and part of the roof of Old Main, and knocked out power in Galesburg and other areas in Illinois. At its peak, 30,000 Ameren customers were without power. Nearly 10,000 customers in Galesburg were still without power a day later. One house in Galesburg, a rental property owned by Pinky Gibbons, was damaged. One man in rural Victoria was killed by a falling tree.
The civil defense systems in Galesburg were not sounded, the Register-Mail reported, because the systems are typically used for tornadoes. By the time the National Weather Service alerted city officials, the storm was already there, said Fire Chief John Cratty in the article.
No internal damage was caused to Old Main because the original roof is still intact under the new one, Director of Public Relations Karrie Heartlein told the Register-Mail. there are some holes in the roof of Conger-Neal, but the buildings should be ready when students move in September 1.
Stories in the news[edit]
- Galesburg Register-Mail - The storm
- Galesburg Register-Mail - Knox College
- MSNBC
- Fox News - Somehow Fox News heard that one house had been damaged in Galesburg and decided to report that. This is the high quality sleuthing we have come to respect from this organization.
