HistoricOmaha

Family Says Storm Adds To Their Tragedy

POSTED: 8:08 pm CDT August 20, 2007

Older Neighborhoods Hit Hard
There were several neighborhoods hit harder than others Monday night in the Omaha metro. There was extensive damage from north Omaha to midtown.

Michael Eaves said the wind that whipped through his neighborhood near 28th and Miami streets was like nothing he had ever heard, and it left behind a path of destruction through his yard. Eaves said he was sitting on his porch when, in a matter of minutes, the storm blew in and knocked down some limbs. That sent Eaves into his house. After three loud booms, Eaves said he headed to the basement.

“I was crawling on the floor to get to the basement door — never heard noise like that in my life,” Eaves said.

Michael Haynes was watching football Monday night, waiting for his nephew to get home when he said he looked outside and saw his nephew and friend running towards the house. Seconds later, they two were in the basement listening to some sounds that worried them, Haynes said.

“I don’t know if it was a tornado or tree-top tornado,” said William Haynes. “We are done for two or three days.”

In Dundee, large trees — some 40 feet or taller — were knocked down by high winds and lightning. Near 51st and Western streets, a pair of trees fell. One covered the road and the other was split in half, damaging two nearby roofs.

Kurt Swanson said he had to chase a sign for his business.

“Just hanging on the fence at the job site, and just had one of our laborers come by and say our sign is down the street,” Swanson said.

KETV.com: Family Says Storm Adds To Their Tragedy

Extensive Cleanup In North Omaha

Monday nights storms left behind a swath of damage in both Nebraska and Iowa. Perhaps the hardest hit area — North Omaha.

Sister Najwa Magers who lives at 24th and Wirt says, “We kept hearing whistling and thundering and lightning so we ran to the basement. We got there just in time.”

Just in time to escape injury but Magers didn’t escape becoming the storm’s victim. Her home’s roof was ripped off.

“The bathroom was flooded. There was one bedroom in the back that was flooded. The basement was flooded and the kitchen and dining room,” Magers said.

Magers’ landlord, Betty Novotny, started cleaning up Tuesday morning but it’s not an easy task.

Novotny says, “Half the building’s gone. It sucked a flat roof off the building. Trees, bricks gone; water damage inside.”

City workers were helping in North Omaha with the massive cleanup. OPPD crews spent the day restoring power but hundreds remained without electricity Tuesday night.

For Magers, still no power, but some relief came her way. The Red Cross is giving her a place to stay.

If you or someone you know was left in uninhabitable conditions after the storm, you can call the Red Cross for help. The number is 343-7700.

WOWT.com: Extensive Cleanup In North Omaha
Storm Photo Gallery

Where: Beautiful Downtown Dundee; 50th and Underwood; Omaha,
Nebraska
When: Saturday August 25
7:30am - 11am Have breakfast with the Pancake Man! (Trovato’s lot) - Adults $6.00; Children $4.00.
10:30am The Famous Dundee Parade (Memorial Park to 50th & Underwood)
11am - 6pm Shop and enjoy the Crafters, Artists, Children’s Rides,and Amazing Arthur (50th to 51st on Underwood and in the 50th Street Parking Lot)
11am - 11pm Taste of Dundee Garden - Some of Dundee’s Great Restaurants (Dundee Dell, Subway, Trovato’’s) will be serving food all day Al Fresco with Live Music all day and all night ($5 cover from 7pm - 11pm) .
11am - 11pm Dario’s Brasserie will be serving food and beverages all day in his European style Beer Garden (located in lot between A.B.’s Phillips 66 and Blue Line Coffee)
4pm - 5:30pm Kid’s Time - Mr. Stinky Feet on Stage - Kid’s Meal of Hot Dog, Chips and Cookie for $2.00 (Taste of Dundee Garden Area)
Annual Friendly Neighborhood Competition During the Festivities!
Register now and be part of the glory! Call Brittany at Dundee Bank, 504-4000. Entrants accepted the day of event. Free of charge. Winners will receive prizes and neighborhood fame.
Who can enter: Everyone is welcome. Divisions for: Kids, Adults & Dundee Business Teams.
When & Where: Outside of Dundee Bank, Sat. Aug. 25th.
3:00 Dee Apple Bob
3:15 Dee Apple Two Man Race
3:30 Dee Apple Pie Eating Contest
Event sponsored by Dundee Bank.

These sites that caught our eye between July 4th and August 7th:

• Floorplanner.com - The easiest way to create and share an interactive floor plan of your room, house or office.
• Howstuffworks “How to Paint a House: Tips and Guidelines”
• Bungalow23 » Blog Archive : Compost 101 - Compost is free, keeps waste out of landfills, and makes plants happy. Our master gardener friend gives her plants a diet of compost and manure and her vegetables and flowers look like they were grown next to a nuclear reactor.
• Great Plains Urbanism - The conservative, pragmatic Midwestern city of Omaha, Nebraska, institutes one of the country?s most progressive sets of urban-design standards. [via Burnin’ All Illusions]
• eOmaha.com: What Others Have Said - The word is getting out on Omaha! Check out what these large daily papers and periodicals had to say.

These sites that caught our eye between June 21st and June 29th:

• GFC: Roja, Bianco and Blue
• HistoricFlorence.org - Historic Florence, Nebraska - Historic Florence, Omaha’s oldest community. All of our attractions are open for the summer from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. on Friday and Saturday!
• AllAboutOmaha.com - Part 1 - Arts Events Entertainment History - Largest collection of graphic links for arts, entertainment, events, socializing, nightlife, and tourist attraction websites for Omaha and the surrounding area.
• Matt’s Woodworking Website
• Free Woodworking Plans, Free Furniture Plans - Welcome to FreeWW.com - the Free Woodworking Plans website! Over 800 free woodworking plans, free furniture plans, and free scroll saw plans. Just choose your favorite plan from the list below and get to building!!

Pesto is one of our quick meal staples. It’s kind of amazing that our kids (5 years and 20 months) both love to eat it. Just boil some pasta, frozen cheese tortellini, or ravioli; or schmear it onto a pizza crust & add fresh mozzarella. Once in a while we’ll make pesto shrimp quesadillas or pesto & ricotta calzones. Pesto is great with fresh tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. Mmmmm. When basil is only $1/bunch at the farmers market, we buy enough to make 5 batches every week or two. By the end of summer, we have enough frozen pesto in 1cup containers to last all winter.

Makes 1 batch, approx 8 - 12 servings
15 minutes prep time

2 cups fresh basil leaves
4 - 5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (more or less to get to the consistency you want)
2 tsp pine nuts
1 tsp salt
4 - 6 cloves garlic (if you prefer, roast the garlic to mellow the flavor)
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated romano cheese
2 Tbsp softened butter

1. Blend the basil leaves, olive oil, pine nuts, salt, and garlic in a food processor, the amount of oil varies, but the consistencey should seem creamy.
2. Remove and place in a bowl.
3. Mix in parmesa, romano, and softened butter.
4. Pesto can be used fresh or frozen for future use. Exposure to air will cause the basil to turn dark.

More of Mrs. HistoricOmaha’s recipes (aka Kimke) can be found here. She is the best cook I know.