Gas main forces evacuations in Clinton

Officials say a crew digging trenches to lay fibre optic cable cut a natural gas main in Clinton last night, forcing the evacuation of an undetermined number of residents. Tom Juninger is underground manager for Alliant Energy in the Clinton area and says his crew insured no one was hurt.Residents were forced out of their homes about 7 p-m and were allowed to return about two hours later. It’s the third time in just over a week that a construction crew hit a natural gas line in the Clinton area.