The Yellow River is now at a “major flood” level, designated by the National Weather Service, as it is predicted to crest at 16.2 feet by Friday morning. Right now, the flood stage is listed at 13 feet. Pilot Photo/John K. Reed

By Rusty Nixon Correspondent
PLYMOUTH — County residents continue river watching as the threat of floods has caused problems around Marshall County.
According to Marshall County Emergency Management Agency Director Clyde Avery the National Weather Service has predicted the Yellow River at 12.1 feet and rising.
“The river will rise above flood and crest near 16.2 feet around 1 a.m. on Friday,” said Avery. “It will fall below flood stage on Monday.”
Roads closed by rising water had road crews and the Marshall County Sheriff’s office busy on Tuesday.
“It was pretty widespread all over the county,” said Sherriff Jon VanVactor. “It was pretty much just water over the roadway. The weather service says it’s going to be letting up (Tuesday) afternoon so hopefully it will start to subside.”
Argos community schools decided to release students early on Tuesday and posted a two-hour delay for Wednesday morning. There was not a concern for bus students, but the number of students driving cars was a consideration.
“We went out and drove the roads about 11:30 a.m. (Tuesday),” said Superintendent Barb Flory. “One side (west) of (U.S.) 31 was fine but the other side was almost impassable for cars already. We didn’t worry about the busses getting through but the cars would have had a tough time.
“We decided to have a two-hour delay when we heard from the weather service that it could freeze overnight. We just felt it would be safer to let people have some daylight when they were driving in the morning.”
The Marshall County Boys and Girls Club was also closed on Tuesday due to flooding. Luckily the water remained in the basement of the building but still did some damage.
“Our furnace is down there and our water heater. We’ve got pumps running but it took our furnace down,” said Billie Treber, Director of the Club. “The gym was built above the flood line and there is no water upstairs. We’ve got pumps running and once the water is gone we can do some clean up. Hopefully by Thursday we can be ready for the kids again.”
This is only the second time in seven years the club has had to deal with flooding, but after the previous occasion, in January of 2005, it took some precautions.
“Luckily we got flood insurance at that time,” said Treber.