Rapid rehousing effort aims to keep survivors in their homes
Sep. 24—CRUSO — It is a slow slog to get a flooded house ready to live in again.
Just ask Carroll Pressley, 92, who lives in a home with his wife that's about 100 feet from the east fork of the Pigeon River.
The Pressleys home had flooded in just a portion of a living area that had once been a garage, as well as in the crawl space where floodwater seeped into the sub flooring.
The absence of structural damage allowed the home to be one of the 25% to 30% that were eligible for the rapid rehousing program being funded by the county and nonprofits such as United Way and Mountain Projects that have raised funds for flood relief efforts.
Baptists on Mission are working hand-in-hand with the county, nonprofits and the state Emergency Management on the program where the average cost of rehabilitating a flooded home is $17,500 for materials. The labor is free.
Pressley watched as several dozen volunteers tore out the flooring, crawled underneath the house to install plastic that will protect the flooring in the event of another flood, and replace the lower portion of the walls that had been torn out.
"They offered us a loan," he said of the initial meetings with FEMA, "but at my age, I'm not getting any loan."
The Pressleys' home is owned by their daughter, Carolyn Wilson, who initially thought she would have to fill out the FEMA application, but later learned it was the responsibility of the occupants.
This is not her first encounter with FEMA. Wilson was living in a trailer she owned in Clyde during the floods of 2004.
"I never thought I'd have to go through this again," she said. "They gave me zero money. I had my car, the clothes on my back and my cat. That was it. I was working at the hospital, and at age 48, they said I was young enough to rebuild my life."
Insurance provided just enough money to pay for a well and septic system to start over in Cruso. Her home was luckily high enough to escape flooding and allow her parents to have a place to stay as their flooded residence was rebuilt.
Mancia home
Next door to the Pressleys, other Baptists on Mission volunteers were working on the home of Crystal Mancia and her family. The powerful flood waters destroyed a number of outbuildings on the property, decimated the garage and blew a man-size hole in the daylight basement wall.
Even though the Mancias are able to still live in a portion of their home as volunteers do repairs, the structure was red-tagged initially. A red tag means additional permitting is needed before repairs can be made, so Mancia worked with an engineer to address the issues.
Bill Martin, the coordinator for Baptists on Mission efforts in Haywood, said there were 72 volunteers in Cruso Saturday, Sept. 18, working at four sites. One home has been completed, and eight are in various stages of completion, he said.
In selecting homes for the rehab program, Martin said moisture content is a primary factor. Then needs of senior citizens, those with disabilities or single parents with children are on their radar.
The Goodfellows
Farther up the road, Maureen and Tom Goodfellow are overseeing their flood rehab project being done through a private contractor.
Their home had floodwater 4 feet high in it and a 20-foot long tree went through the guest bedroom. They lost all their vehicles, too, except for a F-150 they are using to commute to the Oak Park Inn in Waynesville where they are staying as the work on their house progresses.
Maureen Goodfellow, who is the librarian at the Cruso Community Center, said the initial angst is over. Now she celebrates the little things such as finding something she thought was lost forever, things like her mother's baby picture or several jewelry caskets.
Ironically, the couple is staying in the very same room where they lived when their home was being built years ago.
