Governor listens to flood victims [The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.]

Oct. 31--With photos and testimony from homeowners and government officials, Pueblo presented its flood recovery funding case to Gov. John Hickenlooper on Wednesday.

Visiting Southeastern Colorado counties to assess the damage brought on by heavy rains and flooding this summer, Hickenlooper stopped in Pueblo for lunch and a meeting at the Pueblo County Courthouse.

Pueblo citizens and government officials recognized the damage here didn't reach the heights of destruction in other Front Range communities, but a series of heavy rains did take a toll over time.

"It just seemed like one storm after another kept coming from mid-July through September," Alf Randall, Pueblo County's acting public works director, told Hickenlooper after showing him photos of road and bridge damage from around the county.

"You don't ever have

to apologize that you didn't have a disaster as you did up north. The loss of one home is a disaster," Hickenlooper told a capacity crowd at the courthouse.

"It's all our problem. Part of what we're doing is trying to get to each community effected. We are one Colorado. We're going to rebuild those roads, we're going to rebuild better than what it was before. That's one way you make a statement against natural disasters."

City officials showed photos of how rushing water from up north damaged banks, bike trails and railroad track along Fountain Creek.

And there were photos of homes flooded on the St. Charles Mesa. The Gauna family doesn't live in a flood plain, but their Mesa home was flooded when the Bessemer Ditch overflowed in early August.

The family asked what help they could get to repair their home, which faces $93,000 in damages. Daughter Adrianne Williams said their insurance won't pay and they're hoping some help could come from the state or federal government.

Hickenlooper gave no promises, but Commissioner Liane "Buffie" McFadyen stepped into the conversation saying the county wants to work with the state to bring flood aid here.

"We know we have people who are desperate and we're advocating the best we can for our own people," McFadyen said.

Some flood victims also said they've developed health issues, possibly from pesticides in irrigation water that rushed into their homes. They told Hickenlooper their concerns lie with future flooding and better maintenance and clearing of ditches and culverts.

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