Dear Editor:

I know of no more pressing problem in West Virginia than its perennial flooding, especially here in this southern region, and more specifically, the coal-producing counties such as Mingo.

While this state has many difficulties, the losses in terms of property damages and human suffering are beyond calculation. In the aftermath of severe flooding in this region just a few years ago, a friend and I distributed Clorox and water supplies in the Pigeon Creek area. Remembering floods of decades past, I posed this question of those we were able to talk to: “Have you had enough?”

Is it possible that we, the citizens, might be able to come together enough to bring pressure on civic leaders that would prod them to recognize the source(s) of our grief? How many times are we expected to sit and watch as all our possessions float away? Do we want these problems passed on to our grandchildren?

At this present time, our elected officials are spending a lot of time trying to decide how to spend all that stimulus money; and I suggest that this windfall be allocated for flood control, i.e., dredging, snagging and widening our creeks and rivers so the waterways will be able to carry much more than they do now.

The 1937 flood was the first major flooding that I can remember. That was a flood of epic proportions, however, this area still reacts much as they did 75 years ago - we hunker down and take whatever is dished out to us.

In order that our home and families are protected, something else needs to be done, and that will take local effort and money to get such a program started; but, in the long haul, it will take both the state and federal governments to do an adequate job, hence the stimulus money would be a big help.

As we walked those mud-filled roads and surveyed the tragic results of what we know to be, mainly, a man-made problem, my heart went out to those people who were my relatives and friends with whom I attended school. The look of despair and hopelessness on their faces was more like a horror movie - such was the calamity and upheaval of the landscape.

So, now is the time to think seriously about correcting some of this area’s faults and make life better for everyone. Debris and garbage are still a problem here, as well as run-off from strip operations and denuded mountains. I believe that we, as a people, could do much better than we are currently doing. It is no secret that our creeks and rivers are choked down to where it only takes a modest rainfall to cause them to overflow their banks.

I do not believe that this region has done all it could have done to protect itself and, if we ever want to see jobs return, we need to begin now to correct our mistakes.

Sincerely,

JIM CHAFIN

Williamson, W.Va.