County: Storm damage was $430,000

Published 12:00 am Thursday, February 19, 2004

NATCHEZ &045; Heavy rains from more than a week ago are still playing havoc in Adams County.

Road Manager Bobby Powell reported to the board of supervisors Tuesday morning that the current estimate for damage was $430,000. The county will be applying for assistance from the Emergency Watershed Protection agency to assist in some projects, he said.

Augustine Batteste Williams, a resident of the Robin’s Lake area, told the board that recent rains had caused erosion of her yard. Four inches of rain on Feb. 5 caused the lake to overflow and wash over the dam.

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&uot;I’d like to see a permanent solution with culverts or boulders,&uot; Williams said. &uot;This should not be a headache for us.&uot;

Board members and Powell told Williams that because the lake was on private property the county could not do much to help. Powell said the county did what they could to save the homes from complete destruction.

&uot;The problem was the amount of rainfall, not the dam, not the lake,&uot; he said.

Eula McNeil, who lives on Kingston Road, also suffered damage to her property after the rainfall. &uot;My house is literally falling apart,&uot; she said.

McNeil said she has had problems since 1988 because her home is between two watersheds that drain into her yard.

Supervisor S.E. &uot;Spanky&uot; Felter said he had been out to view the problem. &uot;She’s got a problem and it was put on her by Soil Conservation,&uot; he said. &uot;The county could take every piece of equipment and spend three weeks out there and they couldn’t fix it.&uot;

The board agreed to speak with authorities from Soil Conservation to see what could be done.

McNeil said she was tired of being patient and asked the board if she should get an attorney to get the matter taken care of.

&uot;You can hire an attorney if you want to,&uot; Supervisor Samuel Cauthen said. &uot;But an attorney is going to run into the same problems.&uot;