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Blanchard River begins to back down

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By LISA NICELY and

DARLENE PRINCE

crescent@crescent-news.com

OTTAWA -- Floodwaters are receding, and Ottawa residents are once again beginning to clean up after yet another disaster.

The Blanchard River on Monday crested at 28.66 feet and had fallen to 27.33 feet this morning -- above the flood stage of 23 feet but well below the levels of the past two floods. In February 2008, the Blanchard hit 29.29 feet. In August 2007, the river crested at 31.7 feet.

Officials are happy that the river is going down and looks like it will not hit the high flood stages experienced in '07 and '08.

"Things are starting to back off," Steve Odenweller, coordinator of the Putnam County Office of Public Safety, said Tuesday. "We're watching the skies. We're feeling good so far with the water going down, and if what they predict (in rain) comes we can accommodate that."

Odenweller said that crews will be assessing damage throughout town today.

Officials hope damages will not be that bad, especially with all the preparations that have been in place since the August 2007 flooding.

"Things have gone very smooth," Odenweller said. "Residents were prepared and knew what to do. Unfortunately, we've done this a couple of times."

Still, water remains high on several roadways in the county as rescue crews were out in Kalida this morning.

A Continental resident whose car stalled when she tried to drive through high water was rescued early this morning.

The Putnam County Sheriff's Office received a call at 6:20 this morning informing them that a car had become stalled in the water after the driver, Pamela Holland, 53, Continental, tried to drive through high water on Road I 18, north of Kalida.

Holland was rescued by the Kalida heavy rescue department of the Kalida Fire Department. Assisting in the rescue were the Continental Fire Department and Sheriff's Deputies Gary Smith and Lt. Tim Meyer. Holland was uninjured and was taken to her parents' home by the Continental EMS.

Meanwhile, in Ottawa residents stayed close to home to ensure their properties were safe as they could be from the floodwaters. Today was the third day the Ottawa-Glandorf Local School District canceled classes due to flooding. Brookhill Center was also closed today.

Ron Corson was pumping out the basement of his Cox Street home on Tuesday.

"It's getting to be a regular thing," he said of the flooding. "I'm just taking it in stride anymore. After the February floods I bought a gas pump to save the furnace."

His neighbor, Angie Bowen, said she's tired of the flooding.

"I'm fed up with it," she said. "They need to do something about the river."

Isaac Vasquez was walking down Main Street from his home near the Blanchard River.

"It kind of sucks," he said of the flooding. "The August flood basically took our last house. We had it lifted since then."

Others are also getting tired of the flooding.

"It's frustrating," said Jared Miller. "I don't know why this is happening so easily now. I had a basement full (of water) in February. I'm keeping it out right now. Hopefully the rain stops."

On Main Street, Bob Okuly and Darrell Combs were helping pump water from the Schnipke Inn.

"They better come up with something quick," said Okuly. "It's starting to get really frustrating. It shouldn't happen like every time we get a few inches of rain. I'm getting tired of it and my daughter's tired of having to move everything out of the basement and putting all the furniture up."

Business owners are also frustrated.

"It's a heart break," said Shane Brinkman, whose son owns Tin Lizzy Saloon on Main Street. The bar was damaged in the August 2007 flooding. "We've only been open 16 days. We just recovered."

Up the street, Margie Schnipke had been at her family business all night.

"I'm just tired of it," she said, noting her family owns the Schnipke Inn. "It's time they get some major action done."

The "they" residents were referring to are town officials and several organizations that have formed to help alleviate flooding as well as expedite flood mitigation efforts. Some of these groups include the Blanchard River Flood Mitigation Coalition and Northwest Ohio Flood Mitigation Partnership (NWOFMP).

"There are things that are going to get mitigated," said Odenweller, who has met with the groups. "The problem didn't happen in a year or two, and it won't be solved in a year or two."

Both the coalition and NWOFMP have been working diligently to handle flood mitigation efforts and speed up an Army Corps of Engineer study that can point to issues that can help alleviate any potential flooding.

In February, representatives from both groups went to Washington, D.C., to talk to lawmakers who could help with the flood mitigation efforts. According to the coalition, it is possible that Ottawa could be in the design phase of the Army Corps' study by late 2010. Currently, there the public can still provide input to the Army Corps if Ottawa is interested in flood walls, levees, wetland restoration or other flood mitigation projects.

"The goal is to get this done as quickly as possible, but it has to go through the process," Tony Iriti, president of NWOFMP, said this morning. "Currently, we are ahead of schedule and will continue to push ahead of schedule. I understand the flooding can occur at any time and we are working as quickly as possible and we will have a solution.

"The problem is we're still in the study phases, we have to determine the most economical solution to implement and do what the community wants. We have to figure all of that out. Then it has to be designed and go into construction. What typically slows that down is the federal appropriations for the project. That's why the trips to Washington are so important to ensure we get those appropriations in."

The coalition and NWOFMP have already been making plans or already buying property along the Blanchard to turn into greet space as well as provide space for flood walls or river bank restructuring if need be.