From the Capital-Journal:
ROSSVILLE — Rossville residents Friday morning prepared for flooding from Cross Creek, placing sandbags around homes and removing refrigerators and other items from businesses in the downtown area.
“We grew up here, so we know who gets hit the worst,” said Chad Shafstall, of Rossville.
Cross Creek in Rossville and the Wakarusa River were expected to exceed their crest levels Friday, causing flooding in Rossville and along the Wakarusa River, said Shawnee County Sheriff’s Lt. Danny Lotridge.
About 12:30 p.m. all Rossville firefighters were asked to report to their stations to help with evacuation.
Cross Creek’s water level was expected to reach nearly 29 feet at 1 p.m. The Wakarusa River was expected to reach 21 feet at 10 a.m.
For information about the Wakarusa River, call Shawnee County Emergency Management at (785) 251-4152 or the sheriff’s office at (785) 251-2366.
Residents who have questions about Cross Creek can call the Rossville Fire Department at (785) 584-6349, the Rossville Police Department at (785) 584-6047 or the sheriff’s office.
Shafstall and dozens of other residents from Rossville, which is northwest of Topeka, were busy filling sandbags with sand at the high school.
“You see a lot of people you haven’t seen in a long time,” Shafstall said.
Shafstall, safety officer for Wolf Construction in Topeka, said the sandbags would help divert the flow of water and keep erosion down.
Sandbags and sand were available for residents shortly after 6 a.m. at the high school. Shawnee County Public Works was providing the sand.
After protecting their own homes with sandbags, several people went back to the school to help bag sand for other neighbors.
“I’m helping out because a lot of the older people helped raise me,” said Shafstall, who also served in the Coast Guard. “There are a lot of young backs around here, fortunately.”
Many of the high school’s volleyball and football team members were gathered at the school to help out before coaches called to ask for help, Shafstall said.
Larry Couchman, of Manhattan, filled about three dozen sandbags to place around his father’s garage and home in the 100 block of Pearl.
Couchman helped his father, Harold Couchman, through the last flood in Rossville, which took place in October 2005.
“I lost everything in my basement,” Harold Couchman said as he and his son removed items from his garage and stacked sandbags around the perimeter.
Derek Balch, 15, is Harold Couchman’s neighbor. After helping his family prepare for the flooding, Balch was helping the Couchmans. He said his family was trying to move items from their finished basement to the upstairs portion of the house.
On a footbridge overlooking Cross Creek, Dominick Reynolds, 19, of Delia, was watching logs float quickly by and also keeping tabs on how fast the water was rising.
“My sister lives in Rossville,” Reynolds said.
He drove from Delia to Rossville to help her prepare for the flood and to help his employer, Anderson Upholstery, and his mother, who owns Dora’s Closet, move items.
“I’m stuck in town now,” Reynolds said.
Joe VandeVelde, of Rossville, had stopped his Blue Chevy Caprice on N.W. Rossville Road near the Cross Creek Drainage Basin. He was watching as water rose across the road.
“I’ve been around Cross Creek all my life,” VandeVelde, 74, of Rossville said. “We have some real problems with floods.”
Cross Creek and Wakarusa River had risen significantly during the past 24 hours and continued to rise, Lotridge said early Friday.
“Heavy rain falls locally and to the north of the area have filled water reservoirs that feed into Cross Creek,” a news release said. “Residents in Rossville should expect a flood event that will last for several days. Residents west of Main Street will be impacted during the early stages of this flooding event.”
Localized flooding will result in road closures and is expected to reach homes, Lotridge said.
West of Rossville, several country roads were closed because of high waters. A house at 15120 N.W. 54th already was flooded. A mailbox surrounded by flowers sat in several inches of water. A detached garage was surrounded with water, and water was already touching parts of the house.
In downtown Rossville, Sarene McCrory, owner of Grounded Coffee House, was removing items, including a refrigerator, from the business.
There had been a steady flow of people who stopped by for coffee and breakfast.
“They still have to their caffeine,” McCrory said. “They still have to go to work.”
Stephanie Lovewell and Caleb Crawford, who live on Navarre street, were standing in their back yard watching as Cross Creek rose closer and closer to their home.
Crawford said he didn’t think the creek water would get too close to the house. However, the couple already had lost several new plantings, a fire pit and a burn pit.
Despite the possibility of flooding, Lovewell said there was a bright spot.
“It has been nice to see the community come together,” she said.
Pickups filled with sandbags were being driven house to house for those who needed an extra hand.
Shawnee County Sheriff Herman Jones was spotted driving the roads around Rossville looking for flooding. He encountered VandeVelde on N.W. Rossville Road, which was flooded over about two miles west of Rossville.
By 11:30 a.m., water was rushing over the roadway. Several cars turned around and headed back toward town.
Crystal and Rocky Welch, of Delia, were trying to get to their home but flooded roads were keeping them from being able to get there.
“I have three dogs out there,” Rocky Welch said. “I need to get to them. I may be walking.”
