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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Living behind dike 'a form of torture'

Town of Morris like a ghost town

By: Bill Redekop

Posted: 04/16/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

A truck drives out of Morris on Highway 23 - the only route in and out of the town, which has been surrounded by flood waters. (JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

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It's eerily quiet in the Morris these days.

Residents are used to the rumbling motors and exhaling air brakes from a steady flow of cars, trucks and big rigs passing through town. Not anymore with the ring dike closed and much of Highway 75 under water.

"It's like a ghost town," said Roxanne Schiewe, manager of Burke's Motor Inn, which has seen patronage from travellers drop to zero in recent days.

"Walk down the street and it's pretty quiet, compared to the usual hustle and bustle."

Morris is surrounded by water with roads closed to the north, south and west. However, its ring dike isn't completely closed, and people can still drive in and out to the east.

Communities protected by ring dikes all still have road access in or out, except for Riverside to the northwest of Morris, where about 20 out of 30 families have left.

Once a ring dike is closed, the people remaining can't be older than 70 or younger than 13. They must also have items such as a gas generator, water supply, a boat, and communications device.

People leaving Morris can still take Highway 23 east, then Highway 246 to Aubigny, and across to Highway 75, to get to Winnipeg, Mayor Dale Hoffman said.

Schiewe said her staff has to take detours that make it 30 to 45 minutes longer to get to work.

Morris gets both tourist and industrial traffic from semi-trucks hauling goods to and from the border. That has suddenly stopped, with commercial trucks taking an hour-long detour around Morris. "It's a lot quieter in town. You actually have time to visit your neighbours," Hoffman said.

Volunteer firefighters have started walking the ring dikes at night to watch for leaks, he said. Some people are also starting to arrive in town by boat.

Upstream, Letellier is also protected by a ring dike. Rick Gallant, of Gallant's Fine Foods, has noticed a drop in business. Many customers come from Roseau River but much of that community has been evacuated for weeks.

Morris is not expecting to get the Red River crest on Saturday. "It's almost a form of torture," Schiewe said. "Let's just have the crest happen and move on."

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 16, 2009 A6

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