Recovery takes long-term approach

It's been six weeks since floodwaters inundated Jackson County and much of central and southern Indiana, leaving behind a path of costly destruction and scores of homeless residents.

Although some have been fortunate enough to fix their problems and move on, many have not, Ruth Ann Rebber, executive director of the Jackson County United Way, said Thursday.

Local recovery officials agree it could take as much as 18 months for those areas hardest hit, including Bartholomew and Johnson counties, as well as Medora in Jackson County, to fully recover.

"And even then, it's not going to be normal as they knew it," Kevin Cox, president of the Indiana chapter of Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster  and CEO of the Hope Crisis Response Network, said. "It's going to be a new normal. We are not here to give them what they want. We are here to give them what they need."

Long-term recovery

Local community leaders and others from different areas of expertise have joined efforts to restore Medora and to prepare for the next disaster by forming the Jackson County Long Term Recovery Committee.

That group gathered Thursday at the Community Agency Building in downtown Seymour to discuss their plans on how to move forward.

Serving on the committee are Rebber, the Rev. Jimmy Rodriguez of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Arann Banks from Jackson County Chapter of the American Red Cross, Duane Davis from Jackson County Emergency Management Agency, Chuck Beller from the Salvation Army, County Commissioner Monte Striegel and Bud Walther from the Community Foundation of Jackson County.

Rebber had some good news to report on the financial front. She announced Jackson County has received a $100,000 grant for flood recovery from the Indiana Association of United Ways as part of a $45 million donation from Lilly Endowment. A second round of grant money will be available later, she said.

The Community Foundation has created an account to manage the Community Disaster Re-lief Fund and to accept donations.

"It's our hope that if we can match funds we will be able to bring in more dollars, and we will have an ongoing fund for community disaster relief," Rebber said.

But Cox warned al-though the money will help, it won't solve everyone's problems.

"The Lilly money is not going to go as far as people think," he said. "Disaster recovery needs to be locally led, and we want to help you create a successful and sustainable long-term recovery plan."

Rebber agreed long-term planning should be everyone's focus now, so that in the future the county is prepared when disaster strikes.

"We're trying to expand our scope, because we know we need to be much better prepared and have a plan in place," she said. "We may not use that plan for a long time, but we need to have it ready when the time comes."

Flood insurance

Striegel, who is leading the client identification and mitigation team, reported he had run into some problems with flood insurance issues in Medora.

"This is a big mess up," Striegel said. "None of the people have flood insurance because the bank has the insurance policy against the mortgage."

Homeowners were charged for the policy, however, and the insurance company will have to pay, he added.

"But they are demanding that the (Department of Natural Resources) forms be filled out and turned in before they will do anything," Striegel said. Those forms require homeowners to elevate their houses before rebuilding or move to another location.

Striegel said he doesn't want to force people from their homes.

Construction to begin

Brownstown resident Mike Tormoehlen is leading construction efforts. Although he could not attend Thursday's meeting, Rebber said he has plans to begin assessment work this weekend.

"Mike and his team will begin inspections of damaged homes this weekend to determine the extent of the work and estimate the materials that will be needed," she said. "He will prioritize from the worst to the least damaged."

Rebber emphasized that all volunteers going into homes must have an official identification badge and card with them. They are available from Rebber at the United Way office in the Community Agency Building.

Project Nehemiah

Rodriguez announced that the Adopt a Family program has turned into Project Nehemiah, coming from the biblical story of Nehemiah, who restored Jerusalem and led the rebuilding of the city walls.

He said 15 local churches attended a meeting Wednesday and several have committed to take on the cost and labor of helping families rebuild their homes and put their lives back together.

Also providing services for mental and emotional care is Project Aftermath, a group of mental health crisis workers. Representatives from the organization said they will remain in the area as long as needed and will be going door-to-door in affected areas, especially Medora, to provide their services.

The group along with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration will have a flood recovery booth at this year's Jackson County Fair, for people to stop by and pick up information or register for assistance.

Medical needs

Rebber said the long-term recovery committee is also working on getting medical support for Medora residents.

"We want to get a case worker down there because we have two areas of concern," she said. "One is the elderly and two the children that are needing to get ready to go back to school. Then there are those people ignoring their medical needs because of the cost and stress of what has happened to them."

How to help

For information on assistance or to find out how you can donate or get involved with long-term flood recovery efforts, call Tonya Couch at Jackson County United Way, 522-5450