CAPE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES CONTINUE TO PATROL FLOOD AREAS

JACKSON -- With an entire county to patrol as floodwaters rise, the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department is keeping its staff busy.

Sheriff Norman Copeland himself has spent several hours in Dutchtown, Allenville and other flooded areas of the county, reassuring residents that they have not been forgotten and that their homes will be protected from looters.

Deputies have worked 12-hour shifts patrolling flooded regions in boats, cars or on foot, chasing away trespassers and serving as a security agent for residents.

"Every day we go to Allenville in the boat to check on the residents and see if there's anything they need," Copeland said. "The Coast Guard is delivering fresh water to them daily. We try to act as a go-between, relaying any special needs to the organization that can provide them."

The department with some help from the Missouri Highway Patrol is also enforcing a round-the-clock curfew in flooded areas and on closed roads.

"There are so many roads in the county that are affected, we just cannot spare the manpower to have a deputy at the head of each road," Copeland said. "So we're enforcing the road-closed orders by virtue of the curfew. If you're caught inside the barricaded areas and you're not a resident, you're going to get cited."

Copeland said that the need to enforce the road closings became apparent when the sandbagging efforts picked up throughout the county.

"The volunteers weren't able to get in to give the residents the help they needed, and the residents couldn't get their belongings out," Copeland said. "There was too much traffic from sightseers congesting the roads to get anywhere."

So now a deputy is assigned to the Dutchtown area 24-hours a day to ward off potential looters and to turn back curious motorists.

Aside from the curfew, the department has done its fair share of enforcing the laws within the flood zones.

"Right after the signs went up, we had this group from Tennessee come up here, get out their jet skis and buzz around the houses standing in the water," Copeland said. "They were creating all kinds of wake water, which is potentially destructive to the homes.

"We arrested the lot of them and charged them with possession of marijuana, trespassing, and charged one of them with driving while intoxicated," the sheriff said.

"Another night they were having a little disturbance in Allenville and we sent a deputy over in a boat to put an end to it," Copeland said. "That's the first time I think we've ever transported a prisoner by boat."

But the sheriff said that over the past few weeks the number of sightseers has dropped off.

"I think they've gotten the point," Copeland said. "It's a good thing they did it's just not safe for people to be driving those roads, especially at night."

Copeland meets daily with representatives of the County Commission, Emergency Operations Center, the National Guard and the Corps of Engineers for briefings and discussions on the state of the flooding.

"This has been a total team effort right from the start," Copeland said. "Everyone has really pulled together to make this time of crisis easier on the flood victims."