Illinois couple retreats to higher ground, then returns to air out possessions

WARE, Ill. -- Keith and Jean Livesay have owned their ranch-style house in Ware on Illinois Highway 146 for 37 years, and distinctly remember the flood in 1973, when 6 or 7 inches of rain caused water to creep over the levees that make up the Clear Creek Drainage District.

They toughed it out then, and Keith Livesay recalled only one house that suffered any flood damage.

This storm was much worse.

When the couple evacuated their home Tuesday around dinnertime, they were careful to store important documents in a safe place and move all their electronic equipment out of harm's way before retreating to what Jean Livesay called "higher, drier ground" in Wolf Lake, Ill., where they stayed with family.

They chose to evacuate then because they feared if the waters rose much higher, they'd be unable to safely negotiate the roadways.

Keith Livesay walked in his front door Thursday morning to find nearly a foot of water swirling close to the tops of his shin-high rubber boots.

Most of the day Thursday was spent moving cabinets, armchairs and dressers out to the front yard to air. The Livesays' clothes hung on the split rail fence around their property, drying in the sunshine, under the first blue sky Southern Illinois had seen since the storm began early Monday morning.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245