Residents, businesses start flood recovery; weekend looks dry

John and LouAnn Lightfoot are starting to pick up the pieces after what they say is the worst weather disaster experienced since building their home more than six decades ago.

This week, water from the Tuscarawas River rose to blanket their property at 1160 Third St. NW in Massillon, causing an accumulation of 6 to 8 feet in the basement. Multiple pumps were pulling water from the cellar and flushing it to the street Friday morning, as the couple await a visit from a flood insurance representative.

"You never expect this," said LouAnn Lightfoot, noting that the family home was constructed in 1955. "This is the highest we've ever seen it. It was bad."

Third Street NW was covered with 2 to 3 feet of river water early Tuesday morning, which subsided enough by Friday to allow motorists to safely travel the road. Water in the Lightfoots' yard was at least 18 inches high earlier this week.

Lost as a result of the basement flooding are numerous appliances, such as a washer and dryer, stove, freezer, refrigerator and two sump pumps. Also destroyed are furniture, curtains and the home's hot water tank.

"We have to heat water on the kitchen stove just to take a bath," said Lightfoot, 83, adding that she and her husband, 85, do not plan to leave as they await repairs. "It's home. We ain't goin' anyplace."

Other than removing water from the basement, the Lightfoots are holding off on starting other cleanup work until their insurance representative inspects the home and property to assess damage.

LouAnn Lightfoot said she and her husband are fortunate they were not injured during the ordeal. Cleanup will take at least a couple of months inside the home and garage, as well as along their property, she figures.

Devastating hit

Across Third Street NW from the Lightfoot residence, Courtney Grisez had been storing tables, chairs, beds, mattresses and other furniture items at PR Storage Units for her home-operated business, Everyday Ellegance, which specializes in real estate staging and interior design.

At least 18 inches of water flowed into her storage unit on Tuesday, damaging most of the contents inside. On Friday, she estimated the financial losses will total about $30,000.

"It's devastating, and I'm going to take a hit," she said. "It's time to put my big-girl panties on and get moving."

Friends and family were helping to load a moving van with salvageable items from the storage unit. Grisez said the process will continue at least through the weekend.

Grisez said she does not have renter's insurance to help cover the cost of the loss, but she will be able to replenish or buy new things on her own.

Cleanup in Canal Fulton

Two businesses along North Canal Street were engaged Friday in a massive cleanup effort, as about 4 feet of water crept into the basement of Keillor's Teddy Bear & Gift Shop, and nearly 2 feet of water flowed into the neighboring Hatfield Real Estate company.

Linda Keillor told The Independent that her business has been closed most of the week due to the flooding from the Ohio & Erie Canal. She was out of town Tuesday, when the bulk of the water began to seep in, and returned Wednesday to what was a bigger surprise than she could imagine.

"It's my first time seeing something like this," said Keillor, who's operated the shop for 22 years. "If (the water) went upstairs (a few more feet) it would have just done me in."

Store merchandise, antiques and plastic tubs filled with supplies stored in the basement were removed Friday from the back entryway of the basement into an outside dumpster by friends and volunteers, said Keillor, who was thankful to her neighbors for lending a hand.

"We're hauling out the best we can," she said.

According to Keillor, the shop should be open for regular business on Tuesday. The store is routinely closed Sunday and Monday.

Ina Hatfield said her real estate business was closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, but reopened Thursday after power was turned back on. Other than water in the office basement, no other impact from the flooding was felt, she said.

Clinton drying up

Overflowing river water that saturated much of the village -- including its main thoroughfare -- earlier in the week had receded enough by Friday to reopen Main Street, which was dry and safe for travel in the morning.

Some folks were out walking their dogs on a mostly sunny day, enjoying drier conditions along sidewalks and at intersections.

Akron resident David Oberlin, who owns three office and apartment buildings in the village, was using pumps to transfer water out of one of his garages. He called the water damage and loss of supplies and contents inside the unit monumental.

"It's going to be astronomical," he said. "The water here came up like 20 feet (to cover downtown) in no time."

Rainfall update

Since June 15, 4.40 inches of rain has fallen at the Akron-Canton Airport, the National Weather Service station in Cleveland reported. The average for the entire month is 3.83 inches, meteorologist Brian Mitchell said, adding that slightly more than 7.7 inches was recorded so far this month.

From Wednesday night through Friday morning, 0.64 of an inch of moisture was received at the airport, Mitchell said. Some parts of the county had even more rain.

Looking ahead, most of the weekend is looking fairly dry, Mitchell said, and any additional precipitation is not likely to roll in until late Sunday night.

"Sixty-straight hours of dry weather should certainly help (the Tuscarawas River region) a little bit," he said. "A lot of stuff (rising water) has hit its peak, but it still has to make its way through the (river) system."

Reach Steven at 330-775-1134 or at [email protected] Twitter: @sgrazierINDE

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