City of Vicksburg Street Cleaning Department employees work to clear limbs from Washington Street in front of Isle of Capri Casino this morning. Employee Bennie Crosby said two trees were toppled. Traffic was blocked for about an hour while the debris was removed.(The Vicksburg Post/MELANIE DUNCAN)>

[04/08/02] At least two buildings in Vicksburg sustained damage and several hundred local customers were without electricity as a line of strong thunderstorms moved through the area early this morning.

The major portion of the storm moved through the Vicksburg area around 4:30 with high winds and rain. Officially, the area received 0.63 inch of rain as of about 7 a.m. and winds gusted to about 40 mph.

The roof was damaged on the building that housed Ruby’s Hot Tamale Hut, 723 Grove St., and the building housing Allison’s Auto Body and Paint, 1904 Walnut St., said Billy Riddle of the Warren County Emergency Management Office.

He also said trees were toppled by the wind on Oak Ridge Road near Openwood Plantation between about 3:30 and 4 a.m. and in the Bovina area. Trees were also knocked down on Washington Street near the Isle of Capri Casino.

The Jackson office of the National Weather Service said the highest recorded wind at the Vicksburg Tallulah Regional Airport was about 40 mph at 4:22 a.m. today.

Allen Maxwell of the E-911 Dispatch Office said there was also a tree down on Bradford Drive off Fisher Ferry Road.

Sheriff Martin Pace said the Warren County Sheriff’s Department received reports of five wrecks, three with injuries.

The first wreck reported to the sheriff’s department was at 5:03 a.m. today on Oak Ridge Road just north of Newitt Vick Drive. Deputy James Carter said a pickup driven by Otto King, 43 1973 Oak Ridge Road, collided with the large oak tree that fell earlier.

Carter said King was taken to River Region Medical Center for treatment of lacerations.

At 7:13 a.m. Carter said a Ford Escort driven by Evadnie Wyatt, 62, Route 1 Box 169, Port Gibson, turned from the parking lot of Sherman Avenue Elementary School into the path of a Dodge pickup driven north by Eddie Lee Hays, 55, 201 Kings Gin Road.

Johnnie Lee Knight, 18, 1605 C Greenhill Road, was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the truck, Carter said.

He said Knight and Wyatt were taken to River Region for treatment.

Pace the other wrecks were on Bovina Cutoff Road, Mississippi 3 and Mississippi 27. The wreck on Bovina Cutoff Road was investigated by Deputy Leroy Williams and did not involve injuries. The others were investigated by the Mississippi Highway Patrol.

A few more than 700 customers of Entergy were without power this morning, said Cheryl Comans, customer service manager. All of the outages were caused by trees and limbs falling on power lines.

The outages “were pretty well scattered all over the county,” Comans said, adding most of the outages were near Bovina and south of the city.

She said extra line crews have been called in to help crews already stationed in Vicksburg and said all customers should have power once again by about 5 p.m.

“I’d hate to say 12 o’clock and be wrong,” she said.

The weather forecast for this area said wind and rain would probably dominate most of the day with the possibility of severe thunderstorms this afternoon.