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Clinton Lake Marina owners rebuilding after storm damage severed gangway

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There's still plenty of recovery work being done after this week's brief, but severe storms.

One of the worst cases of damage happened at Clinton Lake Marina in Lawrence, Kan.

High winds snapped cables keeping the marina and docks in place and caused the large structure to shift about 20 feet.

The movement left most of the docks and slips intact, but severed the the marina's gangway, a crucial connection point carrying all of the plumbing and electrical infrastructure from the marina to land.

Erin and Peter Meiusi have owned and operated the marina for the last several years.

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Cinton Lake Marina storm damage

They say no power or plumbing means no fuel or food sales in the middle of their normally busy summer season.

"We just kind of got hit, no pun intended, with the perfect storm," Peter said. "You know, 70, 80 mile-an-hour gusts that went through and caught it just right."

Erin Meiusi said any damage to the marina is jarring.

"This one in particular I feel like is pretty devastating" Erin said. ... "Like right now, we can't sell gas, which is what a lot of customers come out here for. We don't have power, so our deli is shut down."

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Peter and Erin Meiusi, Clinton Lake Marina owners

Their spirits are far from sunk.

They are kept afloat by the flood of support from the Lawrence community.

"We have an awesome community out here at the lake, which includes both slip holders and then the Lawrence general community," Peter said. "We've felt very supported."

It's hard to estimate when they'll be back to ship shape, but the repair work has already started.

The cables that snapped will be replaced with stronger ones and the two, 4,000-pound anchor blocks used to secure the marina will be bolstered with new ones.

"Because we're a floating marina, we're exposed to the elements and we're used to rolling with the punches," Peter said. "This punch was a little bit stronger than the previous ones, but we're going to get back up on our two feet and finish the summer out strong."

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Boaters at Clinton Lake Marina, Lawrence, Kan.