PERRYVILLE AIRPORT AGAIN AT MERCY OF RELENTLESS MISSISSIPPI

PERRYVILLE -- In the early morning hours of July 25, a breach of the Bois Brule levee turned murky Mississippi River backwater into a 10-20 foot lake that covered about 28,000 acres of farmland and the homes of 90 families and businesses.

The Perry County village of McBride was inundated, along with the Perryville Municipal Airport.

As the waters receded in early September, efforts were made to clear the runway and repair airport buildings that housed Gilster-Mary Lee Corp. and Sabreliner Corp.

But just when the companies were preparing to move back this week, the relentless river rose again delaying any attempt to restore business operations.

"Gilster was all cleaned out and sanitized, and they were ready to move back in," said Perryville Mayor Robert Miget. "But they had to put it on hold. The water's come back up, so they're back out of there."

Miget said the city had started cleaning the runways at the airport and removed the siding at some of the damaged buildings.

"We let Sabreliner take their inventory out of one building that had collapsed so we could tear it down," Miget said. "We contracted to take the skins off the other buildings and check for any structural damage before we put new skins on."

But the efforts to rebuild have been thwarted by the latest rise in the river. The Mississippi was expected to crest Monday in Perryville at about 39 feet about 12 feet over flood stage.

"At 31.2 feet, they have to shut down the road to Chester," Miget said. "It's over the road at 31.2, so at 39 feet there's another 8 feet over the road."

Despite damage to their facilities near the Perryville airport, both Gilster-Mary Lee and Sabreliner have continued to operate.

Miget said Gilster, which makes popcorn and cereal, has two plants in Missouri and another in Illinois. Of the 500 employees affected by the flood, about 400 have been placed at the other two plants.

And Sabreliner, which refurbishes aircraft, is operating out of three different buildings. They've also moved some operations to the Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport.

Miget said both companies have indicated they have "every intention" of moving back to their Perry County sites.

"The (Army) Corps of Engineers has been in and they're trying to dredge the levee at the breach," he said. "But until they can get the breach repaired, there's not a lot we can do out there."

The good news is the Corps has indicated the Bois Brule levee will be among 203 levees eligible for federal repair help.

This summer's flood broke through or topped more than two-thirds of the 1,576 levees along the Missouri and upper Mississippi River basins, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in levee damage.

The breached levee near Perryville also stalled the city's improvement plans at the airport.

The airport improvements included the installation of an 8-inch water line from the west end of the city to the airport, which previously had no potable water supply, and extension of the airport runway from 5,500 to 7,000 feet.

Another aspect of the project was extensive drainage improvements at the airport. In all, the airport improvements will cost about $2.5 million. Construction was expected to be completed early in the construction season this year.

The project will be funded primarily with federal Economic Development Administration funds, in addition to money from the Missouri Department of Economic Development, the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department and the city.

"The runway and water line was completed, but there was still some drainage work to do when the river came up," said Miget. "What work was done appears to be undamaged by the water. But that will have to be re-evaluated with the water up again."

The mayor said he has no idea how much the repair work will cost, but City Administrator Craig Lindsley has told him there will be some federal and state funding to help foot the bill.

Miget said he just hopes the two businesses affected by the flood -- Gilster-Mary Lee and Sabreliner -- can soon resume operations.

"It all depends on what happens through the fall and winter," he said. "We hope they'll be back there in '94, but there certainly are no guarantees.

"But so far all those businesses have indicated to us they have every intention of moving back in there as soon as possible."