MUDDY COMMERCE WORKS TO RECOVER FROM FLOOD

COMMERCE -- Mud blankets the pavement and yards. The asphalt streets are crumbling in places.

But with the Mississippi River floodwaters receding, life is returning to normal in the small Scott County town.

Some residents who had fled the floodwaters have returned home. "They are coming back and cleaning up," said Ann Huck, the town's mayor.

Huck said Friday that only about four homes in the community of about 180 people were severely damaged by the flooding.

Huck's home was not one of them, although floodwaters came within about an inch of getting onto the porch of her home.

"That's pretty close, too close for comfort," said the 79-year-old mayor.

She said the basement of her home was full of water at the height of the flooding. "We pumped until it started running in the basement door," she recalled.

Flooding left Huck and her husband, Linus, without electricity for over a month. During that time, they often ate with relatives. In their home, she said, they were "living out of an ice chest."

The couple's backyard garden is still buried in mud. "You can't even get to it, the mud's so deep," said Huck.

The Hucks, aided by relatives, have cleaned out the basement. "We used four gallons, maybe more, of Clorox."

Huck said she doesn't expect more than three or four families at the most to move out. The Hucks are among those staying.

"This is just our home. It's been home for 55 years," said Huck, adding that she's "too old to move now."

Many of the town's streets resemble more plowed ground than pavement. "The streets are pretty much of a mess," she said.

Volunteer firefighters with the NBC (New Hamburg-Benton-Commerce) fire department helped wash the mud from some of the streets last week, but the job is far from done, Huck said.

In addition to the streets, the old fire station now used as a town meeting hall suffered some flood damage.

The mayor said she doesn't know if Commerce will receive any federal disaster aid. But with an annual budget of $6,000, Huck said the town can't afford any massive cleanup costs.

Inspectors with federal and state emergency management agencies visited the town last week to assess the damage.

Meanwhile, Huck is anticipating charitable aid from two towns far removed from the region.

Commerce, Texas a city of about 7,000 people has adopted the Scott County community, and plans to send both money and supplies. The town of West View, Pa., population 7,700, is also planning to make a monetary donation, Huck said.

"It's greatly appreciated," the mayor said. "It shows there are some good people in the world."