41.5-FOOT CREST EXPECTED HERE; COMMERCE RESIDENTS BATTLE RIVER ONE MORE TIME

COMMERCE -- After three major floods, Marie Mayberry hopes she has packed her belongings and moved to higher ground for the last time.

Floodwaters from the Mississippi River are forcing Mayberry and her husband, David, out of their house at 30 Water St. The Mayberrys are accepting a flood buyout offer from the State Emergency Management Agency.

They had hoped to finalize the deal in late May and then leave their home, but rising waters Tuesday forced the Mayberrys out early.

Their back yard is under water and the river threatens to rise higher before a crest on Thursday. But the place has a great view when the river is in its banks, they say.

Until their new home near Benton is built, the Mayberrys will live with relatives across the street. When the river seeps into that house, they will move to higher ground at the edge of town.

"It'll be like camping," Marie Mayberry said.

"Only not as much fun," added neighbor Connie Thompson. "It's only fun if you don't live here."

Commerce residents routinely face floodwaters. The 206-year-old Scott County village floods almost every year since there is no levee or floodwall to keep waters out.

The Mississippi River reached 34.2 feet at the Cape Girardeau gauge Tuesday. It should crest at 41.5 feet by Thursday.

"It's faster this year than I've ever seen it," Mayberry said of the rising waters.

Even though the flood threatens to ruin homes in Commerce, many residents aren't worried. At least 12 properties already are slated for demolition through the federal buyout program. Another 18 are being vacated.

Seventy-nine homes in Commerce were eligible for the Community Buyout program operated through the SEMA.

At least 35 people who were eligible for the federal buyout did not accept an offer or were not interested, said Laurel Moldenhauer, grant administrator for the Commerce buyout program. Eleven residents are still considering an offer. They have two weeks to accept or decline.

With the water rising, Moldenhauer has received additional calls from residents interested in a buyout offer. Residents have until Friday at 5 p.m. to voice an interest in the program.

Throughout the state, 3,500 people have accepted buyout offers through the federal program. "It will just be that many less people who will be chased away by floodwaters," Moldenhauer said.

In Cape Girardeau, city officials hope that the buyout program will eliminate some of the potential flood damage.

Twenty-eight of the 50 homeowners in the Red Star and Smelterville areas agreed to a buyout, so there are less people affected. But residents are still living in the flood-prone areas.

The activity building at Red Star Baptist Church will serve as a temporary shelter for anyone who needs a meal or place to sleep, said Darlene MacCubbin, a volunteer with the Cape Girardeau chapter.

By 6 p.m. Tuesday, only one person had been to the shelter, which can house about 36 people.

"There's enough warning for them to get their stuff out," MacCubbin said, adding that the shelter will remain open 24 hours a day if needed.

TO GET HELP

Anyone affected by the flood can contact the American Red Cross at 335-9471.