Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 1, 1993 TAG: 9303310462
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: NANCY BELL STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
FLOOD CONTROL TALK IN VINTON TURNS TO ACTION
Joan Drewery says the first talk about flood control in Vinton's Midway neighborhood started eight years ago - about the time of the 1985 flood."They said after the flood of '85 they would do something," Drewery said about town officials. "Our community has flooded at least once a year since then, and it just seems to get worse. We realize the town of Vinton doesn't have the money to fix it. But what are we supposed to do? Nothing?"
Drewery, Debbie Wilkerson and Chris Elliott did more than nothing. They knocked on doors and handed out fliers, urging their neighbors to get involved so the town could qualify for a federal grant to improve the water and sewer systems in Midway.
The women contacted most of the neighborhood's 500 residents and got support for the grant.
As a result, Vinton officials recently applied for a $1.25 million Community Development Block Grant. The money would be used to repair sewer lines, improve water pressure in fire hydrants and unclog manholes.
The grant also would be used to relocate eight Tinker Avenue families from a low-lying area that floods frequently. Ten more homes will be rehabilitated. Vinton Town Council also has committed $350,000 over the next two years for water, sewer and drainage problems in Midway.
"You just can't throw enough money at this project," said Assistant Town Manager Bob Benninger.
"I'm involved with this project because we want the town of Vinton to do something for us. Midway's always been neglected," said Drewery, who has spent hundreds of hours on the project.
Drewery, a mother of two, said she's watched flood waters rise at her neighbors' homes for too long. Her home occasionally gets water on the living level.
"The people here are fed up with the flooding, and they want to do whatever it takes to save their homes."
At least 50 homes were submerged, and many others sustained some damage during the 1985 flood, according to an engineer's report. About half of the 82-acre neighborhood is in the flood plain.
Because of inadequate storm-water protection, the lives of residents in Midway are continuously jeopardized by overflow from Tinker and Glade creeks, said Jim Jones of the engineering consulting firm, Mattern & Craig.
Wilkerson said nearly every family in Midway is affected by flood conditions.
"It's a very serious problem, and something has needed to be done for a long time," said Wilkerson, who said her family has relied on help from outside the community to clean up after floods.
She said her neighbors' frustrations with the flooding made it easier to get them to attend meetings of a council-appointed committee to work on the Midway problems.
"Believe me, it's no fun to watch everything you've got floating away," said Vida Overstreet, who has lived in Midway more than 50 years. Overstreet said her 70-year-old family home never flooded until 1985, and now it floods "whenever the Roanoke River rises."
Elliott, who said she became active in the project to represent the large elderly population of Midway, said the water pressure is so low on her street that residents have devised an informal schedule of water use.
"Anything will help," she told council recently.
Vinton received a $14,000 planning grant to canvass the Midway neighborhood and identify the most severe needs.
Council appointed Drewery, who had spoken frequently during council meetings, and Wilkerson to a planning committee that also included town officials and other citizens.
"Joan Drewery has become the activist-citizen, hustling up community volunteers, attending meetings," said Vinton Councilman Joe Bush, who has known Drewery since high school.
"She's done a fantastic job of representing the neighborhood."
Wilkerson, Elliott and Drewery, who came to be known as the "women of Midway," worked with town staff and engineering consultants to prioritize the needs of the community and checked back to make sure the problems of their community were evident to council.
Vinton Mayor Charles Hill said the project needed leadership, and "it is always good to have someone step forward to help."
The women of Midway, he said, "are interested in the community and the welfare of the neighborhood."
Midway's citizen volunteers "have done an excellent job," said Jones, the engineering consultant.
The grant Vinton is seeking is usually reserved for localities that still have outdoor plumbing and no running water, making it "super, super competitive," Jones said. But he thinks the Midway project will be funded, because the problems are so severe.
The town will be notified by mid-summer if it receives the grant. Work would begin about a year later, after bids are advertised and awarded.
"Out of 77 applications received last year, only 20 or 21 were funded. With citizen input, the funding agency can be assured the municipality is serious about the project," Jones said.
Jones also has encouraged the town to apply for funds for a storm-water management system that was eliminated from the block grant application because of cost. Engineers said a $3 million flood wall is probably the only thing that will keep the water out of Midway.
Jones said the federal government is expected to allocate more money in the future for flood control, and Vinton, which is working with other local governments on a regional flood reduction plan, may qualify.