By Dewey Terrill
JC Post
Junction City firefighters and C.L. Hoover Opera House personnel responded to that downtown building early Saturday morning in response to flooding. Among them was Opera House Co-Director Joe Markley. "We had major flooding happen in the main part of the Opera House. In fact water was flowing out the front doors, all three sets."
A crew was brought in to begin cleanup of the facility, which had water one inch or more deep in offices, the lobby and water that got into the carpet in the main theater.
Markley talked about the possible cause of the problem. "I don't know definitive on this, but it looks like one of the sprinklers that were in the attic of the Opera House went off. I don't think it was a case of a frozen pipe, and flooded the whole elevator shaft and water was in places an inch deep at least throughout the whole lobby." Water did not get into the basement or the adjacent Rolfs building. It flooded every office including the box office, the directors office and everything on the main floor. Water also came through the ceiling of the second floor Montgomery room. "So I'm not sure what the extent of the damage will be." Markley added the Opera House is a City owned building so it will be up to their insurance.
Shows for the season were finished. Markley noted that the next scheduled show is Jan. 14. "So in one capacity or another we'll be ready." Water got onto the computers and ticket printer. "Whether they're ruined, we're going to wait a good long time to let everything dry out and see where we are on that. But, hopefully as far as the public it won't shut us down much as at all."
The Opera House was already scheduled to be open the week between Christmas and New Year's Day but Markley expects it to reopen in some on Jan. 3.
