THEBES RECOVERS FROM YEAR OF STORMS, FLOODING

THEBES, Ill. - Nestled along the bank of the Mississippi River in north Alexander County, the tiny village of Thebes is struggling to recover from twin blows it suffered this year at the hands of Mother Nature.

In early June the town was raked by hurricane-force winds that caused extensive damage to property and trees throughout the community. In August parts of Thebes were heavily damaged by prolonged, record flooding of the Mississippi River.

Mayor David McNeely says the village has been hurt but is not down for the count. "We'll survive," he said. "Neither the wind nor the Mississippi River are going to run us away."

Thebes residents' struggles with the elements began when a line of severe thunderstorms packing winds of 75-100 mph lashed parts of Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois. The powerful winds damaged the historic Thebes Courthouse by lifting a section of the backside of its roof, causing one of the tall columns to move off center about one-and-one-half feet.

For several days after the storm Thebes was closed to all but its residents and emergency services agencies until uprooted trees and downed limbs could be cleared from the streets. Much of the town was without electricity and telephone service for days, until downed telephone and utility lines could be repaired.

Meanwhile, Thebes residents were busy clearing fallen trees and limbs off of roofs and from yards and sidewalks. At night they cooked over barbecue grills by the light of gas lanterns.

But Thebes recovered; today the scars of the storm are difficult to see. The huge pine tree that damaged the roof of Della Horn's home on Eighth Street has been cut up into firewood. The roof on Patricia Prater's home on Fifth Street, just north of the courthouse, has been repaired, as have the roofs of other homes.

The column at the courthouse was moved back into position by a contractor last week at a cost of $700. McNeely said there doesn't appear to be any structural or internal damage to the courthouse.

Said the mayor: "It's awfully dusty in there because we had to keep it closed until the roof and column were repaired. We had to keep it closed to tourists and visitors the entire summer. But now the repairs are done, and we're getting it cleaned up again."

Just when it seemed Thebes was ready for a quiet summer along the river, Old Man River rose to heights that shattered record flood crests from St. Paul, Minn., to Thebes. Although the record flood did not physically affect as much of Thebes as the wind storm, its impact was much more devastating economically, said Thebes Clerk Thelma Foutch.

"The wind storm caused a lot of property damage and cut off telephone and utilities for many of us, but no one lost their homes or had to leave their homes," said Foutch. "The flood was much worse. We had people who live down under the hill along the river and along the Bean Ridge Road who lost their homes. The water got in their homes and ruined their furniture. Many of them are still out of their homes and not able to come back."

McNeely said the greatest flood damage was near the Mississippi west of Fourth Street on the north and south sides of Poplar Street, and on the west side of Highway 3 on Bean Ridge Road along Brownville Creek.

The mayor said one or two homes and at least four mobile homes along Bean Ridge Road near the creek were damaged or destroyed by the prolonged flooding.

McNeely said the damage would have been much worse had it not been for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's buyout of property owners still living near the river following the 1973 and '79 floods. Because of those buyouts, houses that had been flooded previously were demolished and the people moved into newer homes on top of the hill.

But the mayor said the 1993 flood was much higher than the 1973 flood. "I thought I would be high and dry this time," McNeely said. "My home is on Fourth Street. It's in the 500-year floodplain, but I still had water under the floor. I found out I could have almost become a victim of flood as well. As far as I'm concerned, this flood came 487 years to early."

The mayor said flood damage to property was even more extensive and expensive. At one time both of the town's sewage lift stations were out of service when water reached the electrical control panels. The stations -- one just south of Poplar Street near the river and the other along Bean Ridge Road near Brownville Creek -- are back in service.

McNeely said he would like to raise the control panel on the Bean Ridge Road lift station by 12 feet so it won't be flooded again.

"To make the repairs and raise the control panel will cost about $4,000. FEMA says that's too much money, but I feel if you're going to repair it you should try to raise the panel so it won't be damaged again," he said.

McNeely said the village board still has no idea what it will cost to repair the damage to the community's three-cell sewage lagoon. The lagoons were overtopped by floodwater that backed up into Brownville Creek south of Bean Ridge Road. The water eroded and damaged the banks of the lagoons.

"There is so much damage to municipal facilities up and down the river that it's hard right now to find someone to come down and give us an estimate of what it's going to cost to repair the lagoon," he said.

The Thebes Village Hall had several feet of water in it and sustained ceiling damage because of all the moisture. But McNeely said the village can handle those repairs.

The mayor said he's more concerned about getting emergency flood assistance for the citizens of Thebes whose homes have been damaged or destroyed by flooding.

"I've asked FEMA to come in and buy out those whose homes were flooded this year, and I want them to look at all of the houses from Fourth Street to the river and along Bean Ridge Road," said McNeely. "The river reached a record height this time, and I feel it will come back again. Why wait until it happens again and again? Why not buy out these people this time and turn the area into a grassy park.

"I'm ready to offer legislation to the village board that will enable them to do that, if FEMA will agree. But so far I have not heard anything back from the federal government."

Despite the damage and hardship, McNeely said the wind storm and flooding did have one positive aspect.

"It has brought all of us in Thebes and the area around Thebes much closer together in a spirit of cooperation," he said. "The credit for the survival of Thebes does not belong to me or the village board; it belongs to the people of Thebes and the hundreds of people who live outside of Thebes whose homes were not affected by the flood. They pitched in to help sandbag Fourth Street so those homes would not be damaged. They didn't give up."