NICHOLAS COUNTY, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — Five years ago this week, many of the streets and businesses and homes in downtown Carlise were covered in water. Those places where the water had receded were caked in mud for weeks and some even months. Cars were strewn across yards, backyard trampolines looked as If they had been trampled. Some of the homes were even knocked right off their foundations.
"It would have been easy to throw your hands up and say, 'jeez, do I want to try to pull through this?'" Mayor Ronnie Clark recalled. "But every employee I've got; the council members, they all, we all got in line and said, 'hey, we're going to make it better than it was.' And we've been able to accomplish that," he stated.
Clark has been the mayor here for more than twenty years, but his experience and leadership were never more needed and evident than the morning after - and in the five years since - that water from Brushy Fork Creek came rushing into his city.
Mayor Clark said there wasn't much financial assistance offered from federal or state agencies. He said the county was given about $1,000,000 by the Commonwealth, but the city apparently only saw about one tenth of that amount, and it went to purchase a new city trash removal truck.
His residents, who all lived in an area that wasn't then classified as a flood zone, were on their own as insurance wouldn't cover claims, and whatever might have been covered was done so for pennies on the dollar.
"I was very disappointed. The judge said it (the $1,000,000 relief fund) was for the county to decide how it would be distributed, but most of the damage was in the city," Clark stated.
He said his population didn't drop much after the flood. People rolled up their sleeves, borrowed money to rebuild, they've since replaced the grocery store that was demolished by the flood, and investors have bought up some of the homes.
"Farm bureau has built a new building in town. We've had probably 10 new houses built in the city. They'll take down the dilapidated house and replace it, so we get a customer back for water, sewer, gas, trash, and a taxpayer," Mayor Clark explained.
Ricky Moore is the city superintendent office and works as a volunteer firefighter as well. He'll never forget that night five years ago.
"We were out at the old nursing home on a fire alarm drop. then after 15 minutes of being there they said there were people trapped on top of camper in a high water, so we rushed back, got our boat and headed to east main street," Moore recalled.
"All the residents, they were struggling. They lost their homes, but they were still out working, helping their neighbors, and everybody just helped everybody," Moore said.
One person was killed in that storm. Deborah Ritchie didn't survive when her mobile home got swept away into the creek. Community members paid their respects to her, and the then went to work on what would be a years-long process that still isn't 100% completed.
"It wasn't easy. Took a lot of hard work, dedication, and pride," Mayor Clark said, proudly, and then he discussed the old, abandoned building he's since turned into a City Hall complex.
"If you have people working for you, they shouldn't have junk equipment. They shouldn't work in an environment with plaster falling off the ceiling, so we started and got that done," Clark said.
It's one of the many things they've been able to get done since the water from that creek came crashing into their lives five years ago.
"Extremely proud. I couldn't be prouder of the people of this city," Mayor Clark said.
