By K. Jean Daimuzo
and the Ledger staff
Smallville prides itself on being "the place where nothing happens." This week, something big changed that. These are the stories of what will surely become known as the Great Meteor Shower of 1989.
The Ross brothers had just completed a business meeting with a prominent Metropolis financier. "Bill and I were in the office looking over the paperwork," Dale recalled, "when this huge flash goes streaking across the sky and something plows a huge trail in the field out front! Of course, the first thing we did was make sure Petey and the others were okay. I remember thinking how lucky we were that it didn't take out the factory right when we're heading into our best days ever."
Nell's Secret Garden was close to the epicenter of the meteorite deluge. Owner Nell Potter was overcome with emotion as she recalled observing first-hand the devastation. "I was standing in the doorway holding my little niece, wondering what on God's earth could have made that smoke trail in the sky. And then, I saw it coming, but I couldn't warn them, oh God, I couldn't do anything . . ."
Rocks from outer space plummeted onto Smallville, decimating cornfields, uprooting trees and firebombing cars. The steeple of Smallville chapel was sheared off, the water tower torn apart and the welcome sign destroyed. Preliminary reports of damage are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Power outages are expected to continue well into next week, and residents are urged to boil their drinking water, as the reservoir and some lakes were hit as well.
Teenager Alison Sanders and her boyfriend Darren Levens were out at Crater Lake when one of the meteors stuck. According to Darren, "We heard this loud noise coming. We couldn't figure out what was causing it. And then, it was like the whole world just exploded! It was crazy! Lake water shot up all over the place--" Alison interjected, "--like a hundred feet in the air! Lucky we were in the car. We would have gotten drenched, or we might have even drowned."
One major problem this devastation makes abundantly clear is the need to enlarge the Smallville Urgent Care building into a full-fledged medical facility. Rookie emergency physician Dr. Kenneth Ruddzehn states, "Usually we can handle a couple of small farm mishaps and your typical flu but nothing major. But the injuries we're treating now--after this terrible meteor shower--it's just all so frustrating because we don't have the right equipment and we don't have enough room!"
Seventy-five-year-old Cassandra Carver is one of the injured patients Ruddzehn still needs to treat. Carver quietly sits alone on a chair holding a wet towel to her eyes. "I was picking flowers in my backyard, and I noticed something coming towards the field behind my house," remembers Carver. "The last thing I saw was an incredibly intense flash--and then darkness. I can't see anymore. My neighbor had to bring me here." After this reporter touched Carver's arm to offer support, she told me she hoped I knew how to change a tire. When I went out to my car later, the right front tire was completely flat.
Over at Smallville High School, junior Cory Barnes was among the stragglers remaining in the parking lot celebrating the Crows' triumphant homecoming victory
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over the Griffins. "I was heading over to the parade when I thought, 'Gee, the sky sure looks weird.' Next thing I know, there's rocks the size of grapefruits flying down. My brother's gonna kill me--his Datsun is ruined!"
Freshman Smallville High School student Jeremy Creek was found among the ruin in the cornfield near the Ross Creamed Corn factory. Authorities can only speculate what the teenager, wearing only boxer shorts, was doing in the cornfield at the time of the destructive downpour. Transferred to Lowell County Community Hospital, Creek lies comatose, suffering from what doctors say is a severe electrolyte imbalance. However, a hospital worker, who chooses to remain anonymous, says that scientists from Kansas State University are studying strange "electromagnetic pulses" radiating from the teen's body. Meanwhile, all hospital life-monitoring systems must remain at least nine feet from the boy's bed. Authorities refused to comment.
Among the Smallville landmarks damaged in the meteor shower are two popular eateries, Jane's Café and Ma's Eats, the latter of which may be irreparable. The Smallville Savings and Loan building took a direct hit to its second floor. Fortunately, several members of the Crows football team, on hand for the ill-fated parade, helped most of the employees escape injury. And the historic abandoned Creekside Foundry was pummeled to the point of becoming even more structurally unsound than it already was.
One locale that some residents may not regret seeing devastated is the site of the planned Pleasant Meadows housing project, a development being managed by an outside firm. The awarding of the contract to a Metropolis company, LuthorCorp, had been protested vigorously, but supporters of town council president Bill Tate's ambitious expansion approach prevailed.
The Red Cross has set up an emergency shelter at Smallville High School. Blood donations are needed as well as volunteers to assist with several elderly residents who were left homeless after their senior complex collapsed. Lowell County Sheriff Mark Waid, along with local officials--after cross-checking with Smallville Urgent Care administrators--is compiling a list of townspeople who are missing. "At this time, the number of fatalities is unknown," stated Waid.
Also among the numerous people injured were salesmen Kyle Tippet and Bob Rickman, who were just returning to town after being on the road when word came over KROW radio of the disaster in progress. "It was terrifying. Just as we heard the newscast, the car was struck," said Tippet.
"The impact was like being broadsided by a locomotive. And the next thing I remember was waking up in a helluva lotta pain at Smallville Urgent Care," added Rickman.
As Smallville cleans up and tries to look forward to better times in the future, many tears will undoubtedly be shed. But among the clouds of disaster, bright spots shine through. Rose Greer, owner of Rose's Antiques, told of a minor miracle brought by the meteor shower. Rose's 3-year-old daughter, Tina, suffers from an incurable soft bone disease. The little girl has endured several different experimental drugs to no avail. Greer said, "Our doctor was trying to prepare us for the worst, but on the night of the shower, Tina had some kind of breakthrough. She's been getting stronger ever since. I'm just so happy that my baby is feeling better."
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