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By Erin Smith
In times of trouble, people near and far reach out to one another. That is no better shown than the outpouring of support and assistance that has arrived in Bladen County and the Cape Fear region since Hurricane Matthew struck on October 8. The town of Elizabethtown was one such case where town reached out to town to help with the clean up and recovery process.
Elizabethtown Town Manager Eddie Madden said that on Sunday morning, following the storm, Jay Leatherman, Public Works Director Pat DeVane and himself performed an initial damage assessment of the town. He said when town officials left town hall late Sunday afternoon, everyone believed the storm was over. Madden said no one was prepared for what came next with the historic flooding.
Madden said that in the days following the storm, it became apparent that there was a tremendous amount of debris that needed to be picked up and it was more than the town’s own public works department could handle.
Madden said that he and town of Maiden Town Manager Todd Herms have been friends since graduate school. Madden said following Hurricane Matthew, Herms sent an email asking what Elizabethtown needed to recover from the storm.
“At that time we were still assessing things and didn’t know how to answer him. After a few days it became clear we had a storm debris problem and our staff needed extra help,” said Madden.
He added the town hall had citizens calling wanting to know about leaf and limb collection and what to do with their storm debris.
Madden said that he contacted Herms and asked him if he could send a crew and his response was a quick, ‘Yes!’
“I didn’t know Todd had reached out to Doug Barrick (Town Manager for Rutherfordton) and they decided as well to come help us,” said Madden.
He said the generosity of Rutherfordton and Maiden has been tremendous. Madden said both towns have made it clear they will be paying their own employees salaries and expenses while they are in Elizabethtown.
“Obviously we are not going to allow them to do that. It is a tremendous offer of help and support,” said Madden.
Rutherfordton Town Manager Doug Barrick said that being a town manager for a small town in western North Carolina, when anything happens, a town will rely heavily on surrounding towns to assist in the recovery effort.
Barrick said that when Madden reached out and said Elizabethtown really needed some help, his staff didn’t hesitate. The town of Rutherfordton has a Public Works staff of about 14 employees.
Barrick said he spoke to Keith Ward, Public Works Director, about the situation in Elizabethtown. Barrick said when Ward explained to the Rutherfordton Public Works Department staff what was happening in Elizabethtown and the need for help, the entire department said they wanted to help.
A crew of four was assembled consisting of Keith Ward, Public Works Director; Kevin Blankenship, Crew Leader; Paul Miller, Crew Leader; and Matt Lallement, Crew Leader. They brought with them a bobcat with grapple, a dump truck, and a grapple arm truck, two pick up trucks and two chain saws.
Barrick and Ward both said that everyone else stepped up to make sure Rutherfordton’s citizens aren’t affected while the group was away.
Ward said, “When we came down, we were thinking it (the damage) was more like Lumberton.”
He said instead, when they arrived they found there were massive amounts of brush and storm debris everywhere. Ward said that when his crew leaves on Friday morning to return to Rutherfordton, the majority of the debris will be removed.
Ward said that both of the crews were finding massive logs and a lot of large, heavy debris that needed to be removed from town streets. He said one tree that was removed on Wednesday weighed nearly 6,000 pounds.
Ward said the citizens have been gracious and grateful for the help and thanked the crews. Ward said he and his crew have felt very welcome during their stay in Elizabethtown. They have been sleeping in a camper located across from the Elizabethtown Fire Department.
The crew from the town of Maiden consisted of Bradley Sigmon and Tim Ledford. They stayed at the Elizabethtown Fire Department.
“We are always willing to help any city that needs help and we’re going to do whatever we can to assist,” said Sigmon.
He said himself and Ledford left Maiden at about 3:30 a.m. Monday and arrived in Elizabethtown at about 9:30 a.m. They have worked diligently helping to get storm debris and trees removed from roadways in the town. They brought with them a “knuckle boom truck” to assist in the clean up.
Sigmon, who serves as the Electrical Superintendent in Maiden, said he enjoyed traveling to different places and being of assistance. “That’s my thing,” said Sigmon.
Sigmon said normally they would perform power line clean up but they will do whatever is needed to help get Elizabethtown put things back in order.
Ledford and Sigmon will be leaving late Thursday afternoon to return home.
Town of Maiden Town Manager Todd Herms said that he and Madden have known each other since attending graduate school together.
He said that when he saw on a news broadcast that Bladen County and Elizabethtown were hit with more than 18 inches of rain, he reached out to Madden. Herms said Madden replied back in a few days requesting help.
Herms said both he and Barrick responded by sending crews.
“How many times do people give up a week to go do something like this? These guys volunteered to come help. We wouldn’t be anywhere near where we are without their help,” said Elizabethtown Public Works Director Pat DeVane. “They have equipment we don’t have and secondly it allowed us to focus on other things.”
DeVane said having the two additional crews actually doubled the size of the workforce temporarily.
Madden said that there was also supplemental law enforcement brought in to assist and a tremendous outpouring of support from the volunteers at the fire department as well.
Clean up will continue for a while. DeVane said both Tory Hole Park and the park at Lock and Dam No. 2 remain closed to the public. Madden said that town staff met with the Army Corps of Engineers at the Lock and Dam No. 2 site to perform a damage assessment on Thursday.
Madden estimates damages calculated thus far at about $600,000. This includes paying overtime to employees, equipment purchases made before the storm, equipment rental, and damages and debris removal.
“We are in the early stage of getting things back to normal. Having the crews from Maiden and Rutherfordton, sped that process along,” said Madden.
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