Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

-*»;* ' „i-aal Hr T/i/s storage building behind Faith Fellowship Church resists the flood waters of Big Indian Creek. m m | , j m JHQHHHyHHBHUnK ~^*~~^' T ••* . . BK !■ I • Mill *11»« [ -v- B ' «•*><»(•• ** * >•' Water from Big Indian Creek floods across Interstate 75 between Exit 42 (Highway 41) and Exit 43 (Sam Nunn Boulevard). Troopers shut down traffic on the Interstate, cutting South Perry off from North Perry. ':-V ..M ** * ’fll y^ r ’' .- f" i^l&9*WWTEpy Ji *jf -' *iitss& 1 * I .. * ■ -^^-^IiMIIW^ * ’•*"l" l " Mls *S» Traffic is backed up at Exit 42 (Highway 41) In South Perry, as state troopers close down Interstate 75 between Exit 42 and Exit 43 (Sam Nunn Boulevard) because of flooding. City Hall staff deals with problems caused by the flood By BRIGETTE LOUDERMILK ~ Editor Since the rain started Monday night, area residents have seen first hand the wrath of Mother Nature. In Perry, most residents have been fortunate. Although the city became an "island", with all outlets outside the city being blocked off, residents did have running water, open roads in town and secure homes. Exceptions to that occurred on Elko Road and along Lake Joy. Interim City Manager Janice Williams said probably 10 homes along Elko Road were damaged with at least three or four home owners losing "everything", j No fatalities have been reported locally and the worst problems the Perry City Hall staff has had to deal with is re-routing traffic and collect ing trash. According to Mayor James E. Worrell, the trash picked up by city workers earlier in the week was still contained inside trucks because ac cess to the landfill had been cut off. Public Works Superintendent Hugh Sharp said Friday that the county landfill opened from noon until 6 p.m. Thursday. Utilities Superintendent Danny Walker said that as soon as flooding began the city closed its smaller water station because "we knew it would get flooded". Still the main station stayed open and there is plenty of stored water in city tanks. "Thank goodness we have water. When the water is gone, that's when people begin to panic,” Worrall stated. Although the phones have been "ringing off the hooks" at the local police department, most calls have been from citizens seeking alterna tive routes for travelling. According to Police Chief Frank fc**'** >**• ■| a isM fl ~jg|g ; , =T »HWf" /at ~ • • ~I .'<-'/"/ .’'C'/ 1 ,! -"' - v 'VHbriNup "" 'S'4-^-44MmBfflmiMBEHSMKilftllttlli^M^HIHMBMBBBBHHMB' : -- ;i a iLry-X - V v?SS§§HSS&'SI IVmR B Bp ?it'? fH i ■nßilNlpi v9H9HHHHHF ■ , < ?' t ’ <,-... iT* r w* , lpfr' ■■■■ ~ ■ ■ ?m!m* ■.mim * . j^__»_ Am ** MM Vm *» -- W’V •■ • Z* : rv< ►'.;'■ . •‘ I - - v ~- -. ... .- %'-f --»^T' w^■ -- 'jjj£,y" A . , ajg*': -f+fWyijAjL. ■£. *3es V' .**£&' .-■* Houston Lake bursts through Houston Lake Dam (bottom of the photo) onto Houston Lake Road (top of the photo), washing the road out. Simons his department's main con cerns were with medical emergen cies. "We had to ferry medication across the bridge (at Courtney Hodges) and get patients and doctors to the hospital. We were very for tunate, we had enough officers out and the citizens' cooperation really helped." When the city was split due to th'* flooding on Courtney Hodges Boulevard at Dr. A.G. Hendricks Memorial fridge over Big Indian Creek, Simons did route two offi cers to the north side of town as a "precautionary measure". Although there were already three officers on that side of town, two officers were sent through Hawkinsville to Pinehurst and around the back of Interstate 75. "I’m glad we got them over there because what we were afraid would happen did when Big Indian Creek JbBSHBj *$ * «. ***, “** vr** .y A white plastic chair floating down Big Indian Creek is hung up on the roof of a house on Elko Road. Several houses on the creek side of Elko Road leading out of Perry fell victim to the flood waters. jj 1 - jiHiffi Bm| • ~ • W*% Stranded motorists wait in line to use the phone at the Speedway convenience store on Courtney Hodges Boulevard after troopers shut down Interstate 75 because of flooding Wednesday afternoon. flooded," Simons said, adding that the officers stayed on the north side of town for about 20 hours. Worrall was quick to point out that although traffic seemed to be the major problem in Perry, the mm m Aid, from 1A- that allowed the county to get to the landfill. "(The flood) is going to be costly," said Miller, saying the flood was a 500 year flood, mean ing that flood’s that size happened once every 500 years. "It's going to have a very negative impact as far as the economy goes," he said. "I've toured many of the devas tated areas," Congressman Sanford Bishop. "(The flood's destruction) has been horrendous." "In every single community, Saturday, July 9,1994 Houston Times-Journal- staff at city hall did an "outstanding job. Many of our department heads and other staff members have been working non-stop since Tuesday and I haven't heard one person com plain. Our city employees are to be commended for their diligence and people have come together and have formed a partnership and team to deal with this destruction," said Bishop. "It says a lot about the character and the mettle of the area." Wayne Shackleford, with the Department of Transportation, said that over 1,700 Georgia roads and bridges had been damaged by the flood. He estimated the costs of re pairs at SSO million for county and city roads and bridges, and S2O mil lion for state bridges. However, he said that it was too early to make a commitment to the citizens of Perry." Worrall also stated that the city received excellent cooperation when working with officials from Houston County and various state departments. definite estimate of the damage, since flood waters had not receded from some areas and had not reached other areas. Thirty-one counties in the state have been declared federal disaster areas, said Miller. Miller also said that the state has sent 450 National Guardsmen and 400 additional state troopers into the area to help with security. Also, over 200 divers will come to the Middle Georgia area to assist with damage assessment. Page 5A