A powerful storm that blasted through Iola and Allen County July 14 wreaked havoc on power grids, uprooted and tore apart countless trees and made life miserable for a good swath ot the population for the next few days.
Turns out Iola’s Jock’s Nitch building took a hit as well.
Falling bricks from a parapet lining the building’s roof last week were evidence of the 85 mph wind’s ability to cause damage, said Jesse Milburn of JCM Restoration of Fort Scott.
The winds caught the parapet at the perfect angle to crack apart the mortar keeping the bricks in place, making them susceptible to falling.
There were no injuries late last week when a pair of bricks fell.
Milborn found several others bulging out from the wall.
After a closer inspection of the damage, Milborn taped off the section below the damaged bricks, and planned to return to Iola this week to begin repairs.
On top of adding new mortar and replacing the damaged bricks, Milborn plans to put a new cap on the parapet to better seal the roof area.
The Jock’s Nitch is the second local project JCM has handled.
Milborn also repaired Piqua’s St. Martin’s Catholic Church building, which damaged in a 2022 storm.
FOR YEARS, the exterior of the Jock’s Nitch building had been covered with a tin facade.
But that facade was removed as part of renovations once the building was acquired by Jock’s Nitch owners last fall.
