Heavy rains pound the county

D.J.'s Market & Deli, U.S. 231 North, was completely surrounded by flood waters. (Submitted photo by Tad Craig)

A day-long drenching brought frustration, flood and fire to Bedford County Thursday. Although few public roads were covered, such as parts of Bugscuffle Road near Wartrace, private and access lanes were impassable and yards and fields were turned into ponds.

A Tennessee Community Collaborative Rain, Snow & Hail Network reporting station at Unionville received 7.20 inches of rain Thursday, according to the group's website.

That 7-inch figure was also reported by Community High School principal Robert Ralston at Thursday night's Bedford County School Board meeting. Five inches of that amount fell in a short time, Ralston said.

Raging waters cover the entrance to Parker Sain Road off Liberty Pike, north of Bell Buckle, late Thursday morning. (T-G Photo by David Melson) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Shelbyville Municipal Airport, near Deason, received 2.85 inches Thursday and 2.5 inches early today.

No other reporting stations in the county are directly in the affected areas. The others received less than two inches of rain.

One of the hardest-hit locations was DJ's Market and Deli, on U.S. 231 North across from Blackberry Ridge Golf Club, where high water inundated the store.

"Five inches! Of all places, why was it here?" said owner Ed Foust as he and son Jeff swept the remains of several inches of water from the store late Thursday afternoon.

The store is located next to what normally is a small creek, near a culvert which runs under the busy highway.

"It was almost to the top of the culvert," Jeff Foust said.

Puddles of muddy water still remained inside the store as the Fousts set up a large fan in an attempt to dry the floor.

Ed Foust said he had no idea when the store would reopen or any estimate of damages.

Part of the store's parking lot was also damaged, with large chunks cut into the pavement.

The Fousts said they have operated the store for several years and have never seen water rise so high in the creek.

"I can't get to my sewer plant," said Ronnie Lokey, water supervisor for Bell Buckle.

Firefighters prepare to assess the damage at the Cassidy home in Bell Buckle. The home, which used to be the old Presbyterian church, caught fire after being struck by lightning. (T-G Photo by Mary Reeves) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Lokey also serves as the chief of the town's volunteer fire department and had to put his concerns about the water treatment facility on hold for a few hours to answer an emergency call. The old Presbyterian Church, which was purchased by the Cassidy family after the congregation disbanded and converted into a home, caught fire in the middle of the storm. Lokey believes lightning was the culprit.

"We were next door and saw a big flash of light, and then right after it, no time at all, heard the thunder," he said. "We think it hit an electrical unit and it caught fire."

The first two firefighters on the scene, Nathan Gragg and Landon McKee, had it "pretty much under control" by the time the rest of the firefighters arrived, said Lokey.

Some of those arriving to help had just left another residential fire, this one on El Bethel Road.

"There was a lot of damage inside," said one of the volunteers.

How much damage was done to the Cassidy home is not yet known, but no one was injured, said Lokey.

Water also rose in several areas along Liberty Pike (State Highway 269) north of Bell Buckle. The entrance to Parker Sain Road was impassable late Thursday morning and water was almost to the edge of the highway. A Tennessee Department of Transportation crew and Bedford County Emergency Management Agency director Scott Johnson investigated.

Architect John Davis told Bedford County Board of Education Thursday night that the heavy rain was a "water test" for the new Community High School. He said detention ponds at the school filled as expected.

"They were doing what they were supposed to," said Davis. But the rain revealed some minor problems, such as water being channeled from the roof in such a way that it leaped over the gutter onto the sidewalk. A few leaky vents were also identified, said Davis.

Ralston said it was the most rain in a short period of time that he's seen in nine years at the school.

-- Mary Reeves and John I. Carney contributed to this report.