AT CREST, FAMILY LOSES BATTLE

It wasn't the business LeGrand's Transmission Tom LeGrand, family members and others fought to save throughout Saturday night's 47.9-foot Mississippi River stage.

They battled so desperately because they hoped to spare the family house attached to the garage at 1237 N. Water St. They grew up in that house, and their parents, Lucille and Ben, lived there until just a few days ago.

They lost 10 hours after water began coming up beneath the triple row of sandbags protecting the house. Water is now four feet deep in the house, five feet deep in the garage.

"We just couldn't keep it up," LeGrand said. "At 5:30 this morning we were just exhausted. We lost it."

The river was expected to crest Sunday and drop back to 47.7 feet today.

A spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Cape Girardeau said Sunday that all levees in the vicinity were in good shape.

LeGrand's Transmission hasn't been operating as a business for the past two weeks. If the river keeps dropping as expected, they could begin cleaning up when the stage reaches 45 feet again.

LeGrand, a partner in the business with his brothers Darrell and Dave, said the building itself isn't the problem it's made of concrete blocks, and the machinery has been has been raised or has been moved out.

"Our largest loss has been interrupted income," he said.

The story is the same at Mid-South Steel, which produces tanks used by gas stations and farmers. Six feet of water lies in both plants on Riverview Drive in the Red Star District, and the plant has been out of operation since mid-July.

"We didn't have time to build a levee around both our plants," said Leigh Underwood, a company secretary.

The company, which employs about 30, has kept its office open and has laid off only three or four workers, using the rest to maintain the levee.

Underwood said they are hoping to resume operations by the end of August.

More than 350 people in Cape Girardeau and Perry counties have filed unemployment claims for job losses caused by the flood, according to Jack Cecil, Cape Girardeau office manager for the Missouri Division of Employment Security. The total also could include some people from Scott County, which has been declared a federal disaster area as well.

Cecil said an initial strong influx of claims has slowed.

"I feel like the bulk of it is over with, unless that water does something crazy," he said.

People can qualify if they were laid off because their employer's work was curtailed, or if flooding is preventing them from getting to work, according to Bob Baysinger of the Missouri Division of Employment Security in Jefferson City.

Reacting to an unconfirmed report that a Southeast Missouri company fired some flood victims who stayed home to sandbag their houses, Baysinger said, "I know some unusual things are going to crop up in this disaster."

Another form of unemployment help also is available. Called Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA), it is designed for farmers and other self-employed people who don't qualify for regular unemployment benefits.

The latter group also might include religious organizations, or a family-owned convenience store.

Claimants should bring a Social Security card and a copy of their 1992 income tax return to the employment office.

DUA claims are paid for by the U.S. Department of Labor. Missouri employers fund state unemployment claims. Information about both can be obtained by calling 1-(800) 788-4002.

At last count, more than 8,000 flood-related claims both DUA and regular unemployment had been filed in Missouri, according to Baysinger.

The amount of assistance available depends on earnings, but will not exceed $175 per week.

He said the unemployment claims filed seem to be following the river crests down the Mississippi, and he expects the numbers to increase as the water slowly begins to recede.

"People were so busy fighting the water in the early days they didn't have time to think about unemployment insurance," he said.

Tom LeGrand looked deeply resigned Sunday afternoon as he paddled a boat back to the nearby shop building he and his family still are trying to save.

"Yesterday, everything just seemed in good control," he said. "It just happened so fast."