Aug 21, 2007 7:27 pm US/Central
Thick Mud, Sewage Cover Rushford After Flood
by Heather Brown
Rushford, Minn. (WCCO) ―
-
-
The aisles of Rushford Foods are covered with what the water pushed off the shelves.
CBS
One of the main things people in flood-ravaged southeastern Minnesota are dealing with is thick, heavy muck, which is pretty much covering the town of Rushford.
For a man who lost his grocery store, a business he's owned for 34 years, Jim Hoines has found a small way to cope.
"It's difficult but I think to that you only absorb this as you can. You look at the task at hand," he said.
The aisles of Rushford Foods are covered with what the water pushed off the shelves. Dog food, crackers, even toilet paper is all sitting in shallow, brown muck that doesn't smell very good.
"This is an unsanitary condition right now," said Hoines.
The water that's in the store is from the nearby creek and the backed-up sewer system. The health department has already been to the store.
"This building will be basically gutted. Everything in here will go," he said.
Hoines was the first one to see the damage inside his store and already dozens of people have offered to help him, even a young man who he hasn't seen in years.
"He said, 'You know, you gave me my first job.' He said, 'If you need help cleaning up down there, here's my telephone number. I want to come down and help ya,'" Hoines said.
He's grateful and appreciative of the help people have offered and he's also still a little shocked at what his store looks like.
"When you think of Katrina, we kind-of understand," said Hoines.
While they are letting some people back into their businesses, officials are not letting people inside their homes until they can deal with the brown muck covering the town.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Slideshow: Flooding In SE Minn.
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
