edwinsmith

The National Guard troops are manning the roadblocks at all of the intersections leading into the affected area. We also have EPA here monitoring the cleanup. Highway 169 which is south Walnut street just north of the state line was also floooded and there is a lot of oil contamination there also though the highway is now open. 11th street east of Walnut (which is where 169 turns to go north and where 166 joins) is still blocked off. The detour is to go to 4th street then over to third street east to rejoin the highway.

The boil order was lifted on Sunday I think and the Sonic is back to near normal which is good news for me. I changed my house filter and disinfected my tank just in case though.

I've been out to the airport which is about 5 miles north of the city on 169 and everything is fine out there. There was a small section of flooding on the highway there also but I have seen no EPA activity there.

My feeling is that due to the war the National Guard is so depleted they can't do much more than stand guard duty. FEMA and the EPA... well lets just say they don't do much either due to other considerations which is all I will say.

I think it's going to be a slow recovery for everyone in the state. Oklahoma and Texas have their share of problems also but Kansas got it hard this year. There are a lot of homeless people and they have virtually lost everything except for the clothes on their backs and the vehicles they used to escape. They had about 30 minutes warning to get out. 1 man in a motel didn't and they found his body last week. People are only being let back in ever so slowly because of health concerns which is wrong in my opinion. They should be allowed to sign waivers and be given respirators so they can salvage what they can from their property. But bureaucracy being what it is that just ain't gonna happen. There are reports of workers being sickened by oil fumes and why they don't have respirators is anyones guess. News is scarce and rumors abound of course so don't take anything for fact.

I checked on the truck and everything is fine except for the leaky roof on the hangar and the birds crapping on everything. I haven't done anything since my hospital stay for dehydration but maybe next week I can get back at it if the heat slacks off some. I still have the main body to strip but the fenders, hood and most of the bed are ready. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about the space between the bed and the cab though.

Edwin

BROKER

What a mess ,I'm sure the tv news we see is nothing like the reality . I wish you luck on moving forward .

92DuallyCTD

Indeed, we all wish you the best of luck with recovery efforts! Our condolences to the man's family found in the motel - flooding, destruction, contamination, family life/children all in an upheaval - can eventually be dealt with. It's just additionally sad anyone should lose their life during all this too. So sad. On the brighter side now, news about the truck project is a good thing! You best get well rested/recovered before you dig into it, eh? Thanks for the more precise update on your difficult situation than we get from the news, they cannot convey things like a 'boots on the ground' person can. Best wishes for a speedy, healthy recovery! And don't over-extend yourself, okay??

edwinsmith

I went for another trip through the flood area. I spoke to a state trooper and he said they will probably open the 11th street section of 169/166 up sometime tomorrow. They are also going to let property owners back in starting at 8:00 am tomorrow until 8:00 pm.

They had changed the detour partly so I got to see some I didn't see 2 days before. The damage just looks terrible. Especially the crude oil "ring" around the buildings and you can even see it on the trees and brush. The mold is terrible also for me anyway.

If I remember my camera tomorrow 'll try to get a few more photos. The news shots are old and don't show much at all. All I have seen on the news is shots of the water. They don't show the damage after the water goes down. It's not pretty at all.

Edwin