January 13, 2016
A slow recovery Recipes
Great game day grub
Around Town
11
3
Senior noon Countdown
Homes and businesses remain surrounded by flood waters in West Alton on Jan. 8. Cleanup has been slow to progress as flooding has cut accessibility to the town.
Photos by Sara Hardin
Flood water lingers as West Alton begins to clean up following historic rains
Feature Section
By Sara Hardin “It’s like trying to drain a bathtub through a straw,” says West Alton mayor Willie Richter of the flooding that has lingered in the small town, an aftermath of the heavy rains that resulted in record flooding in parts of Missouri and Illinois. West Alton’s position near the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers means that it is no stranger to flooding, but the unpredictability of this particular bout of heavy rains left the town little time for preparations. “Normally we know seven-10 days in advance that something like this is going to happen, but this time we only had about three,” explained Richter. “It happened very quickly.” Richter ordered the evacuation of the town’s residents into safety once the drastic nature of the flooding became apparent, but the flood water has left West Alton almost completely cut off from surrounding areas. The draining process has been slow and seems to be at a sort of standstill as residents work with volunteers to pump water out of their homes. One of the only areas accessible to the town is on Highway 67 where the Red Cross offers two meals a day and cleaning supplies to residents. “While distributing cleanup supplies to an evacuated community in West Alton, a volunteer discovered more than 80 people who were stranded by high
4
Healthy Living
Learn & Play
9
Tribute
The Red Cross has been distributing food and supplies at Parsons Pit Stop in West Alton.
waters and in need of food,” said Cindy Erickson, CEO of American Red Cross of Eastern Missouri. “They were literally boating to Parsons Pit Stop for supplies. When we discovered this, Red Cross volunteers immediately began meal and water delivery. We have been supplying lunch and dinner to those families since January 5. We will continue delivering meals until the communities have the resources they need. “ Pit Stop manager Kim Kenoyer reflects on West Alton residents tying up their boats after trekking across the wide span of water that now covers a field of farmland neighboring the gas station and
convenience store. She explains that with colder weather approaching, the community is working hard to raise morale and keep hopes high for recovery. “We’re doing the best we can. There’s a lot of disbelief, there’s a lot of sorrow, a lot of sadness, but they seem to be keeping everything positive,” said Kenoyer. “This small community just tries to get together and pull each other out of the disaster that they’re in. It’s nice to see people helping each other.” As soon as access is given to the town, Richter explained that the town’s fire department will serve as a command center See A SLOW RECOVERY page 2
Movie
“The Hateful Eight”
16
FREE Online Subscription
www. mycnews