Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/165363
ALL IMAGES COURTESY HIGHWOOD iG1308--proof2 8/27/13 1:55 PM Page 1 TIMELINE FOR THE MOUNTAINVIEW'S NINE'S 4TH HOLE While many facilities were affected by mud and silt, at Highwood virtually the entire course was covered with between four inches and two feet of mud that dried and cracked into an Arizona-like desert setting. A selected review of Highwood's Facebook postings gives a sense of how Chad Thomlinson and his staff have coped with the tremendous challenges that followed. Their posting from May 31st gives an unintentional foreshadowing of events to come... "Thanks to all of that rain the course has never looked so green! Come by and enjoy the beautiful scenery and a few cold ones." Initial Posts By Town Of High River June 19 - Rainfall warning in effect, amount 15-25mm. June 20 1:16 PM - Mandatory evacuation issued for all #highriver residents. All Subsequent Posts By Highwood G&CC's Chad Thomlinson June 22 Lane and I got within sight of the clubhouse today and saw a few aerial photos of the property at flood's peak. We were hoping to get inside today, but with the Army evacuation and current status, we will have to wait. Not sure about the extent of damages... Family, personal safety and property are our main concerns. Hope you are well and take care. We will be stronger for it someday soon. Chad June 23 This photo (directly below) is looking 46 southeast with the clubhouse in the middle looking like an island sometime around the flood's peak in the NW. We parked all the equipment we could next to the clubhouse and on mounds around it. Probably about 6' of water in the maintenance building and cart storage buildings. Members' clubs are hopefully all spared and carts will have some water damage, just how much we don't know... Got some news today that the clubhouse main level was spared by the flood. Levels peaked about 8" below the doors. Floors are fine and building is secure. Unfortunately as each day passes hopes for playing golf in 2013 dwindle. As soon as we get back in there we will find out if what we are dealing with. June 28 Day 9 - No mention or info on getting back in to the course. I can reenter to my home so hopefully can get more answers at noon. The golf course is not on the re-entry map for today. July 2 Day Who Knows...We are finally back in to the golf course without checkstops and visitor passes needed. We are very close to having power and water in the clubhouse. We have power at the pump station but the intake is plugged and they are pumping and digging as we speak to get some water to the pump station. There are about 10 greens that we are hand watering with pumps and water transport cubes. Jaryd, Dawn and their families and friends helped clean out the freezers yesterday - what a job! ... We are ready for some volunteers to help clean the perimeter of the clubhouse. Can't do much on the course quite yet. If you would like to come down this week please do so at any time. All you need is a shovel, wheelbarrow, boots, sunscreen and water. If you don't have all of those, don't worry we have some equipment too... The crew at the course are making some headway today. Nice to see some positive action, small steps albeit. Thanks to those folks helping us out. Moving some carts, lots of dirt, scraping off greens (browns), watering those greens exposed and more. Thanks to Trent Williamson, Ted Davis, John Blake and Lane's wife for lunch! Still need skidsteers and any piece of equipment with a blade or hoe. No time for pictures just yet...feel free to volunteer your time any day from 7AM - 7 PM full and easy access to golf course now. Got our pump running on H3 tonight, scraped off lots of dirt and aired out the clubhouse! Forecast is for a slightly cooler rest of the week with hopefully some rain to keep the dust down and help water those greens we have left! Special thanks to Mikki Ranger who has been out everyday in the sweltering heat volunteering her services. July 4 Back at it today, our water truck is coming back to help again for the day. We need more help...we are hoping to tackle the carts and staging area around the proshop this weekend so any folks that can make it down from Calgary would be appreciated. See you soon. July 7 Thanks to the many volunteers who came out to help this weekend. We even had folks from Calgary who had no idea who we are or where we were until they arrived and just simply said we are here to help. We are ill equipped in many areas due to the flood so it has been a challenge staying organized and using volunteer help effectively at times. We have managed to clear almost every tee box and green humanly possible. A few on Spitzee are still too deep to get at... As dire as many of the photos may look, there is still a great golf course here to be salvaged. Very little erosion and rebuilding needed, just a mammoth clean up and grow in of turf. We are working with our insurance company a restoration company and various folks to put an action plan into place to start moving the silt and debris off the course very soon... The clubhouse and immediate area surrounding are looking good... Continued On Next Page