Junction evacuated, heartbreak in Equality, Ridgway trailers swamped
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Only a few people remained in Junction Monday morning and Illinois Conservation Police were patrolling in boats for anyone left.
Mayor Melinda Robbins looked out toward the town from the highway at one of the three entrances into town that have become boat ramps. The last dry entrance last week at Sawmill Road was built up by Illinois Department of Transportation following the 1997 flood. It was made to withstand the worst and today it was under water.
"We were told to expect something similar to 1997 and maybe a foot more water. Then they told us this was worse than it was in 1964," Robbins said.
She said most people had already evacuated the town to stay with relatives or at the Shawneetown First Baptist Church American Red Cross shelter.
"There are still some," she said about noon.
"There is not an exact head count."
Robbins said she and her associates are trying to find out which households remain unaccounted for.
Robbins said she ordered the evacuation of the town at 7:30 a.m. Ameren was to shut off the power to the town by 7 p.m. Monday for the sake of safety.
This morning she said a couple of kids were out in the water and a rescue boat could not reach them for the current. She decided though everyone has worked hard to sandbag and fight the flood the water conditions were no longer safe in Junction and it was time to order everyone out.
The water was rushing in rapids under the highway and into Junction from Cypress Ditch. The town at one time was named Cypress Junction due to a number of cypress trees in the area.
"As of yesterday, there was one church and maybe a dozen homes (taking water). Now, as far as homes, I know there are more than that. Probably 15-plus," Robbins said Monday.
Robbins said her own home was not in immediate danger. She had a house fire two months ago and just last week had a double-wide mobile home brought in.
"Where we are now we should be high enough. If not, we'll be back in the same boat again," Robbins said.
"The sad thing is only four to five people have flood insurance."
Illinois Conservation Police Officer John Williamson said of all towns in Gallatin County, Junction was hit the worst by heavy rain Sunday night.
Williamson was making arrangements for IDNR boats to be at Old Shawneetown for a later evacuation.
Equality
Heartbreak may be the best word to describe the attitude in Equality Monday. Families, friends, volunteers and firefighters have worked around the clock to secure several homes and one church. Early Monday morning they saw much of that effort wasted as the rising water overcame sandbags and pumps and entered at least five homes and the Equality Full Gospel Church, according to volunteer and former Equality Police Officer John Wren.
For four days Wren was helping Duke Williams whose sandbagging efforts spared his house during the 1997 and 2008 flood.
"The wall broke on the pool side," Wren said.
At about 1:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. the sandbag wall broke at Williams' house and the wall broke at Equality Full Gospel Church -- the church Wren's mother attends.
Karen Van reports five mobile homes on Depot Street were lost to the flood.
A vacant rental home on Ty Williams Drive near Calhoun Street owned by Dan Bean was also taking in water. Bean, his friends and firefighters sandbagged the house last week.
Water was across Calhoun Street, a sight one man driving past said he had last seen in a flood in 1945.
A crew from Earl C. Clements Job Corps was sandbagging at the home of Annette Gulledge. The Job Corps was there last week and Gulledge believed her home was secure. But overnight the water rose a foot, according to a gauge out front, Gulledge said.
"In 1997 it didn't get this high. It was nothing like this," Gulledge said.
The inside of her home was dry "so far," Gulledge said.
"We need another pump," she said.
Electrical problems last night interrupted the pumps ability to remove the water from behind the sandbags and the water was rising.
Gulledge said her nerves are getting to her.
"I've had no sleep. I've been up since 1:30," Gulledge said.
Gulledge's brother-in-law Eric Johnson came to her house with another pump and at 4:45 p.m. said, "We're holding our own with fingers crossed."
A crew from Illinois Department of Corrections was filling sandbags at the rear of St. Joseph's Catholic Church. Water was at the base of the church, but Wren said it would have to rise several feet up the stone stairs before it would cause any problems.
Ridgway
Mobile homes on the north side of Ridgway are in trouble.
At least one on North Street was sandbagged and overwhelmed by the water. A few -- either vacant or abandoned -- sat in floodwater without any apparent attempt made to save them.
Nonie Dennison was helping a sandbagging effort at the mobile home of her daughter Lori Dennison on North Street. Firefighters were assisting.
An exhausted Fire Chief John Ed Hish was on the scene. It has been a frustrating couple of days for the firefighters having sandbagged at Jamie Scherrer's mobile home on state Route 1 to see it overcome by floodwater.
"We were up all night trying to save one. Were were working on Route 1 and we lost the battle," Hish said.
Firefighters were working to sandbag another home next to Scherrer's with the water rising in the early afternoon.
Only the houses on the north of town are in the floodplain.
Around Gallatin
Gallatin County Emergency Management Agency has termed the flooding situation in the county critical.
<ul>
<li>
As of noon Monday the river stage at Old Shawneetown was 54.74 feet with flood stage at 33 feet. A predicted crest of 56 feet is Wednesday with forecasts indicating floodwaters will be around for at least a week after the crest dates.</li>
<li>
Heavy rains Sunday night forced sandbagging to start in Omaha and Ridgway. Ridgeway Mayor Becky Mitchell is requesting residents to conserve usage of water in Ridgway as there are problems with the sewer treatment facility. Reduced water usage will assist those problems.</li>
<li>
The sewer treatment facilities in New Haven and Equality are close to being inundated with flood waters and residents are urged to conserve water there as well.</li>
<li>
Motorists are asked to remain on the main roads and not call 911 or dispatch centers asking what roads are closed or open. Telecommunicators are currently overwhelmed and do not know which roads are open or closed five to 12 hours in the future.</li>
<li>
Sightseers are asked to stay out of Gallatin County as there is limited access to many areas and sightseers are clogging the roadways. Illinois Department of Transportation and Illinois State Police are enforcing the policy.</li>
<li>
State Route 13 between Harrisburg and Shawneetown and as of 3 p.m. Monday there were no plans to close the highway.</li>
<li>
Anyone working in or around the floodwaters are urged to obtain a tetanus shot as a precaution. Shots are available through Egyptian Mental and Public Health Departments in Eldorado or Ridgway between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.</li>
</ul>
- DeNeal receives e-mail at bdeneal@yourclearwave.com.
</group><group id="83A48AAF-8871-4268-BE56-3BBB192429E8" type="seoLabels"><seoLabels></seoLabels></group>