Rural flooding creating problems

By Tom Hintgen (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published 12:00 p.m., March 19, 2009

Flooding was receding in the Foxhome area Wednesday.

That was the good news for Wilkin County farmers between Breckenridge and Foxhome.

The bad news is that many quarter sections of land and some half sections of land are under water.

“My son, Peter, south of Foxhome, is one of the fortunate farmers,” said Paul Aasness who lives near Orwell Dam and who helps Peter during the summer months.

“On Wednesday I drove to Doran (eight miles southeast of Breckenridge), headed up to Breckenridge and then drove to Foxhome. The severity of the spring flooding lessens as you head eastward, toward Foxhome.”

For his part, Peter Aasness said Wednesday was a much better day than Tuesday.

“The ditches have opened up today (Wednesday) and the water is pretty much contained, Aasness said. “We do, however, have some ponds in our fields — but nothing massive in the way of flooding.”

Both Paul and Peter are optimistic for a good crop season in 2009.

“Most of our corn crop is in Wilkin County, which includes the field near Foxhome,” Paul Aasness said. “Some of our corn is grown in Otter Tail County, along with wheat and soybeans.”

One reason Paul Aasness headed to Doran on Wednesday is that he grew up in that area, on a farm, and graduated in 1958 from Breckenridge High School.

Rodger and Sharon Henderson, along with their twin sons Bryan and David, farm northwest of Foxhome along Highway 19. Like others, they were concerned with high water levels on Monday but were relieved that things improved a lot on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Rodger’s father, Hubert (Foxy) Henderson, expressed empathy and concern for farm neighbors to the west.

“Seeing parts of those sections of land under water really hits you, especially west of here,” said Foxy Henderson. “Dikes along Highway 210 near the beet piler is something you don’t like to see, but it’s something that’s necessary.”

Sharon Henderson praises county employees and law enforcement officials for keeping safety in mind. She saw side roads with warning cones in the Foxhome area.

“You can’t do enough to help people and keep public safety in mind,” she said.

Further east, toward Fergus Falls, Charles Piekarski said water was high — but not abnormally high — along Highway 11 and north of the CHS elevator.

“We had a fast (snow) melt on Tuesday,” Piekarski said, “with most of the water flowing to the west.”

Paul Aasness, like many area residents, expresses concern for residents in Wahpeton-Breckenridge, downstream, and for those along the Red River that heads northward to Fargo-Moorhead and to Grand Forks-East Grand Forks.”

“You see a lot of thick ice on the Otter Tail and Bois de Sioux rivers,” Aaesness said.

“That could, unfortunately, present some really big problems. But for all of us, it’s a waiting game as people plan the best they can,” he said.

The Bois de Sioux River (flowing from the south) and Otter Tail River (flowing from the east) converge at Breckenridge-Wahpeton to form the Red River of the North that flows northward to Fargo-Moorhead and then on to the Grand Forks area.

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