On Wednesday, May 9, 2018, the Boone County Sheriff’s office received a 911 call from a stalled truck one and a half miles north of Petersburg. The truck, loaded with over $100,000 worth of honey bees, was traveling from Texas to South Dakota.
At 2:30 p.m., the department contacted Petersburg Fire Chief Boomer Baumgartner requesting assistance. Baumgartner, who happened to be in town, grabbed the old pumper truck. He arrived at the scene and assessed the situation. He learned from the driver that the bees would die soon if not cooled down. The 18-wheeler flatbed truck was loaded with hives wrapped in bee netting. Baumgarter immediately began drifting a fog pattern over the hives which dropped the temperature significantly.
Read the complete story in the May 16 Petersburg Press, Print and E-Editions.
