2017 RPPC/JPC Joint Adult Mission Trip Report. March 21, 2017

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1 2017 RPPC/JPC Joint Adult Mission Trip Report March 21, 2017 Background: On June 23 rd and 24 th SE West Virginia experienced 10 inches of rain which was followed by flash floods, extensive property damage, washed out or submerged roadways, and 26 deaths. This area is a mountainous region with small towns and villages located in the valleys along rivers and creeks. The heavy rains caused torrents of water to flow down the mountainsides filling creek beds to depths of 4 25 feet. The villages Elkview and Clendenin flooded with 4 12 feet of water during the flood. Businesses were damaged, schools were flooded and homes were damaged or destroyed. This extensive flood damage prompted President Obama to declare 44 of the 55 counties in WV as Federal Disaster Areas. Work Trip: A total of 16 people attended this year s adult mission trip (see photo in figure 1). Four members of the group worked in the kitchen, one member worked with flood victims and provided prayer shawls that her church group had made and 12 members did construction work at the various sites. Our group traveled to St. Albans, WV using private transportation, with members sharing rides with other members where space permitted. We were housed at the First Presbyterian Church in St Albans. There was one dorm room for the gals and one for the guys along with shower facilities in the basement of the church. The kitchen and attached fellowship hall, which was located on the main floor, was used for food preparation, dining, meetings and devotionals. The kitchen crew provided breakfast and dinner and workers packed their own lunches in the morning prior to breakfast. We worked at four work sites. Two of the work sites were located in Elkview, WV and the other two were a few miles north in Clendenin, WV. The two work group members from Jerusalem (Tim Whitmore and Jerry Gapinski) plus two Rock Prairie members (Jamie Swanson and Bill Davis) worked at the Betty Taylor home in Clendenin. Betty s home had been flooded to a depth of 6 feet even though it was on a bank 25 feet above the normal Elk River water level. All of her furnishings were flooded and many were scrapped due to extensive water damage. Much of her glassware, knick-knacks and china were also lost during the flood. She had fallen and suffered a broken hip while wading through the flood waters to get higher ground, was air lifted to a first aid station and then transported by the rescue squad to a local hospital. Betty then went to live in a small camper while her home was mucked out and the HVAC and interior of her home was torn out and replaced. Betty was able to return to her home on March 1 st, when the bedrooms, bath, and kitchen areas were restored enough to permit her to move in.

2 The RPPC/JPC work group was able to repair/replace/reinstall the wood beams and upper trim in the family room, replace the patio door with a new French door, replace the French door in the laundry room, repair the frame, replace the lock and add a dead bolt to an entry door on the family room, align the lock and dead bolt in a French door that had been installed by a previous group and generally tidy up the family room and adjacent patio area. One difficulty encountered when installing the French doors was that the floor was ¼ or more out of level and we needed to build an outside frame and true up the floor with a layer leveling cement prior to installing the door frame. Another issue was safety and all entryways needed to be secure before we left at the end of each workday. Thus we needed to break away from the beam and trim work by mid-afternoon to concentrate on securing the entryways. We did have one exciting moment. The weather turned colder on Monday and Betty had the house around 80F when we got there. Tim wanted to heat up the caulk before he used it and when he went to warm it up on the furnace he noticed that the furnace exhaust pipe was disconnected from the chimney pipe and the furnace exhaust was going into the house! He had Betty contact the HVAC guy, who came right over and corrected the problem. Accomplishments at the other three work sites are summarized below: 1. Mike & Melissa Cummings, Elkview, WV: installed kitchen cabinets & countertops and cleared the backyard of flood debris. 2. Rosie Workman, Clendenin, WV: installed ceramic floor tile in bathroom. 3. Sandy Burford, Elkview, WV: installed wall ceramic tile in 2 bathrooms, installed casement on doors and baseboard trim, stained door jambs and made plaster repairs to walls. The devastation in Elkview and Clendenin is overwhelming. The majority of schools, stores, offices and churches in downtown Clendenin and Elkview remain closed. The schools have been relocated to buildings on higher ground that were not affected by the flood but due to lack of facilities, middle school and high school students share the same facility by each going half days. Many churches and offices have signs indicating that they will be opening mid-summer Glad that RPPC/JPC volunteers could help make a difference by helping the flood victims in this area get back on their feet.

3 Sunrise in St Albans, WV the morning we left for Wisconsin 2017 RPPC/JPC Adult Mission Trip Volunteers

4 HOPE volunteers in front of First Presbyterian Church sign in St Albans, WV. All the work trip volunteers stayed at this church. Col. Mike discussing assignments and giving last minute marching orders before we depart to our work sites.

5 Betty Taylor, an 84 year old widow and survivor of 2016 Clendenin flood. Her home was covered with over 6 feet of flood water which did extensive damage to her home her belongings. Betty fell and broke her hip during the flood and was air lifted to safety. Ellie, Betty s 6 month old companion and guardian. The RPPC/JPC tool truck and trailer parked in the driveway of the Betty Taylor home.

6 New French door that was installed in the family room. The door sill was ¼ out of level and needed to be trued up with a layer of cement before the door could be installed. The trim and baseboard are new. Family room beams which were repaired/replaced at the Betty Taylor home. The trim boards on this side of the room needed to be cut to size, the lower face routed, and the boards stained before installing.

7 E Tim installing a new French door in the utility room of the Taylor home. Flood Damage Observed in Clendenin, WV

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