Lynn recovers:

So much rain so fast, nowhere to go

By CYNTHIA AUKERMAN

News-Gazette reporter

Brad Fisher has been Lynn's town marshal for 10 years, but he's never seen water in the places that flooded Wednesday morning.

"There's no river here. It was just so much rain so fast and nowhere to go," Fisher said.

The flood brought all kinds of new experiences to the people of Lynn.

The local fire department didn't have a boat, so emergency personnel woke up former firefighter Jeremy Stephan about 5 o'clock in the morning because he had a boat and knew how to use it. That was the first boat rescue Fisher had ever been part of.

Fisher summed up the operation with a few words: "It was pretty intense."

The emergency personnel and their helpers rescued five horses at the Robert Pegg home and the Blair Hart home north and west of town. The water was up to the horses' necks, the current was swift, and the horses were afraid to move.

The rescuers approached the horses by boat, as most of them were quite a distance from the nearest dry land. They managed to get halters on the horses and then got them to follow along with the boat to safety.

One man, Mark Dehaven, jumped in the water and brought out a horse. He joked with the other rescuers that they should take a picture because, as a dairyman, he likely wouldn't ever be seen leading a horse again.

Not an emergency worker, Dehaven was just being a good neighbor who saw the situation and brought a livestock trailer to the scene to help.

At one location, a propane tank floated away, as did a boat trailer, and then the current threw a boat against the fence.

At Steve Sauser's new home, the doors held back the water for awhile, but then the pressure became too great, the pins gave way, and the water flooded in. Three days later, those helping with the cleanup found a good-sized bluegill behind the sink. After three days, the smell was pretty ripe.

"The mud was amazing," Fisher said.

Back in town, at least two blocks were under water.

At Younger's Tire Service, all kinds of parts and tools were floating in the water, which reportedly destroyed a brand new $6,000 computer.

Rev. Gary Meeks said on Monday that his household was "partially dried out." He added, "There were others worse than me."

Meeks said he had 1 1/2 feet of water in his basement, and the sump pump quit. He had had the basement waterproofed, and thought that had solved the problem, but not with a rain like Wednesday's.

The Wesleyan Lighthouse Church on Garfield got a little water in it, and in places where water had never come before.

Meeks said, "We have all tried to help each other get through this."

Among the helpers were the MAFIA - Men About Faith in Action. They don't want their names mentioned, as their belief is that their work is about God's work, not themselves.