Park ruined by flood closed indefinitely
DOUGLASS (BERKS) TWP. >> Douglass Township officials are asking the public to continue to have patience as the township recovers from the July 11 flooding that crippled its roadways and took the lives of a pregnant mother and son.
“The biggest thing is we need people to be patient with the township,” said Township Road Master Howie Wagner. “There is a lot of debris on the roads.”
Wagner said his three-member crew is working as fast as possible to clean up the township after the flooding that took the lives of Pamela V. Snyder, 31, and her son, Preston Dray, 9, of Douglass Township.
The mother and son drowned in a vehicle when Snyder’s car was swept into the Ironstone Creek and floated about a halfmile into the Manatawny Creek.
Wagner said the township’s road crew worked five hours Saturday, clearing debris from roadways, but the work was not nearly done. He had no estimate as to when the work might be completed.
“We are working as fast as we can to get everything restored,” Kaleena Breitbarth,
township manager, said as she worked on recovery plans.
“Everyone was understanding,” she said. “People have been very patient and appreciative of the hard work.”
Breitbarth said she has asked the Berks County Department of Emergency Services for help in securing state and/ or federal aid to finance the cleanup. By the end of the workday Monday, Breitbarth said she had secured no commitment for aid.
How things stand
As a result of Thursday’s flooding:
Ironstone Park, the township recreation area, is closed indefinitely. About two dozen, weddings, team parties and other events scheduled in the park’s two outdoor pavilions have been canceled. Playground equipment was washed away. Picnic tables benches floated into woods along the Locust Road entrance park.
Gristmill Road, the road leading to the entrance of the park, Ironstone Bridge and Locust Road Bridge, also remains closed.
Township officials are asking motorists who typically travel through the township to Routes 100, 73, and 422 to discontinue these shortcuts through the township.
PennDOT crews were also helping with the cleanup Monday.
“Anytime we have a significant rainfall, there is always a lot of trees down and flooding,” PennDOT spokesman Sean Brown said. “The cleanup is always a big effort.”
Three days before the deluge, PennDOT crews had begun a bridge repair project on Greshville Road, between Route 562/Reading Avenue, and Winding Road.
PennDOT crews also continued work Monday on the bridge repair, which is expected to be complete in September.