TOPEKA — Gov. Mark Parkinson has declared a state of disaster in Franklin, Anderson, Linn, Allen, Bourbon and Sedgwick counties because of Wednesday’s devastating storms. In his declaration, Parkinson said the storms caused major damage to the electrical grid and the declaration gave the utilities more flexibility in making repairs. Both Kansas City Power and Light and Lyon-Coffey Electrical Cooperative restored power to the last of their customers this weekend. The storm that raked Ottawa and Garnett packed winds of 100 miles an hour, overturning semi-trucks and wrecking farm buildings. The storms seriously damaged the Ottawa Municipal Airport and the Village Inn Motel in Ottawa.
