Nursery stumped by insurance ruling
THERE have been plenty of fine days since Pomona's catastrophic storm, but not everyone is feeling the sunshine.
Michael Grigson's 50th birthday celebration on Saturday night was a moment of joy in the dark times since the storm had wiped out large parts of the family business, Mountain Views Nursery in Pavilion St, Pomona.
The 30-year-old nursery which carries up to 60,000 citrus and exotic trees had never before suffered the extensive damage sustained in the torrential downpour.
Since the huge rain event, Michael and Tina Grigson have found out their insurance company won't cover the damage and they are annoyed at the lack of State Government assistance because the huge rain event hasn't been declared a disaster.
Mrs Grigson said smaller agencies had called about housing and clothing, but they were fine in that area.
It's their livelihood that had taken a drenching.
The couple have calculated it will be a two to four years before they can get back on their feet.
"Five thousand trees are still missing - down the river or somewhere," Tina said
"And about 20,000 we will never get our full money back on."
The Grigsons said because it took more than two years of growth to have a tree ready for sale, it simply wasn't possible to replace the stock.
"It's back to scratch," Mrs Grigson said.
