Karmel, The flood here is something. Neosesha, Coffeyville, Independence and Fredonia are without drinking water. Whole sections of some of those communities are under water. The major oil refinery at Coffeyville is four feet under water and oil is everywhere.
In Labette County, we have had to make several rescues, some by helicopter. We are affected by the Verdigris river on the West and the Neosho on the east. Uncle Donie is stranded by water an all four sides. They went out by boat to get him and he said he was fine and staying put.
Your Uncle Pernell made it to Tulsa fine from San Franscisco, but it took your Aunt Jeannie an extra day to get here from New York. We had a dinner Sunday though the creeks were all out. By Sunday Evening and Monday Morning all hell broke loose. Myself another County Commissioner, Brian Kinzie, and our Emergency Prepardness guy spent most of Monday surverying what dmage we could in the county.
After that, I went to Chetopa and aided in some rescues. I know I shouldn't have considering my bad back and that I am still recovering from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. The Neosho River had spilled over its banks and was flooding several homes.
Though my efforts were appreciated, the one thing they all kept saying was that they were glad I was there for they were finally getting accurate information. You would be astonished at what was being rumored about. I had either seen everything that day or was getting info directly from the Kansas Division of Emergency Management.
I did upset the Chetopa Chief of Police (not really). Your cousin Amber's husband Michael Hayslip from Fox 14 news called my cell. But AllTell doesn't work well in Chetopa. The chief of Police handed me his cell and I dialed Michael back and once I got him handed the phone to the Chief who really got onto me later not realizing I was dialing back a TV reporter. Everyone got a big laugh out of it at a time when there was little to laugh about.
What I remember most about last evening was wading through the water with these huge red ants all over us. I know my actions were crazy, but I just felt their commissioner should be enduring similar hardships and aiding their efforts.
The water is pouring over all three exists east out of the county. Over US 400 west out of Parsons, over US 160 east out of Oswego and over US 166 out of Chetopa. To the West you have Coffeyville and Independence and they are socked in so we can't head west either. One can get North but only if you run a maze in doing so. It is a mess. This is the worst floood since the one of 1951 that all the old timers refer too.
We are all safe here. Last year was like living in a dust bowl and this year like the tropics. Gas is in short supply as you can imagine. The mail didn't get through and probably won't today.
The real work will commence when the cleanup starts. It may take a long time before anyone can drive East out of the county once the water recedes. The roads are tore up from the swift water and intel says the main bridge East of Parsons has shifted - yes, the one they just built.
From a soggy Labette County, Kansas I hope the grandkids are doing fine. I had better get busy doing something. Love, Dad
Wow, wading through the flood waters with big red ants must remind you of Viet Nam. Ugh. Sounds bad. The worst part will be the clean-up that's to come. If things return to normal at all, Kansas should be pretty dry by August. Thanks for the update.
2 comments:
Karmel,
The flood here is something. Neosesha, Coffeyville, Independence and Fredonia are without drinking water. Whole sections of some of those communities are under water. The major oil refinery at Coffeyville is four feet under water and oil is everywhere.
In Labette County, we have had to make several rescues, some by helicopter. We are affected by the Verdigris river on the West and the Neosho on the east. Uncle Donie is stranded by water an all four sides. They went out by boat to get him and he said he was fine and staying put.
Your Uncle Pernell made it to Tulsa fine from San Franscisco, but it took your Aunt Jeannie an extra day to get here from New York. We had a dinner Sunday though the creeks were all out. By Sunday Evening and Monday Morning all hell broke loose. Myself another County Commissioner, Brian Kinzie, and our Emergency Prepardness guy spent most of Monday surverying what dmage we could in the county.
After that, I went to Chetopa and aided in some rescues. I know I shouldn't have considering my bad back and that I am still recovering from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. The Neosho River had spilled over its banks and was flooding several homes.
Though my efforts were appreciated, the one thing they all kept saying was that they were glad I was there for they were finally getting accurate information. You would be astonished at what was being rumored about. I had either seen everything that day or was getting info directly from the Kansas Division of Emergency Management.
I did upset the Chetopa Chief of Police (not really). Your cousin Amber's husband Michael Hayslip from Fox 14 news called my cell. But AllTell doesn't work well in Chetopa. The chief of Police handed me his cell and I dialed Michael back and once I got him handed the phone to the Chief who really got onto me later not realizing I was dialing back a TV reporter. Everyone got a big laugh out of it at a time when there was little to laugh about.
What I remember most about last evening was wading through the water with these huge red ants all over us. I know my actions were crazy, but I just felt their commissioner should be enduring similar hardships and aiding their efforts.
The water is pouring over all three exists east out of the county. Over US 400 west out of Parsons, over US 160 east out of Oswego and over US 166 out of Chetopa. To the West you have Coffeyville and Independence and they are socked in so we can't head west either. One can get North but only if you run a maze in doing so. It is a mess. This is the worst floood since the one of 1951 that all the old timers refer too.
We are all safe here. Last year was like living in a dust bowl and this year like the tropics. Gas is in short supply as you can imagine. The mail didn't get through and probably won't today.
The real work will commence when the cleanup starts. It may take a long time before anyone can drive East out of the county once the water recedes. The roads are tore up from the swift water and intel says the main bridge East of Parsons has shifted - yes, the one they just built.
From a soggy Labette County, Kansas I hope the grandkids are doing fine. I had better get busy doing something.
Love,
Dad
Wow, wading through the flood waters with big red ants must remind you of Viet Nam. Ugh. Sounds bad. The worst part will be the clean-up that's to come. If things return to normal at all, Kansas should be pretty dry by August. Thanks for the update.
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