RUSSELLVILLE, W.Va. — Following Thursday’s historic flooding, Fayette County received a great deal of attention for it’s assistance in the evacuation and rescue of citizens in Rainelle, harboring those citizens, and the creation of multiple supply hubs throughout the county to aid the affected.
But Fayette County did not go untouched in the wake of Thursday’s floods. The border town of Nallen and the community of Russellville suffered intense flood damage and the destruction of homes.
“We were devastated by the flood that happened Thursday, totally,” Russellville native Dewey Stickler said. “It’s bad. It’s just not us. There’s a lot of people up and down this area that has lost literally everything.”
The two communities are just a few miles apart along Rt. 41 as Nicholas County transitions into Fayette County. Houses and trailers dot the rural, somewhat wild landscape as you travel down Rt. 41. Stickler said it was the peace and quiet of the communities that attracted people.
“Quiet area,” Stickler said. “Good neighbors. Nobody bothers nobody. It’s a good area. Good people in this area.”
The two unincorporated towns are close to a number of streams that run into the Meadow River. Dewey’s wife Crystal Stickler grew up in Russellville and said no flood when she was growing up compared to what she saw last week.
“It came fast, and there was water everyone,” she said. “And when it got so much I grabbed my kids and I left. You couldn’t stay. You’d have drowned.”
Everything in their home was destroyed, but on the night of the flood the two had been separated. Dewey left to go get emergency supplies. When he returned, the high flood waters made it impossible for him to get to his home.
“All I could do was walk across the river and see what was going on,” he said.
“We know each other was safe, but when you’re not there together it’s hard. It’s really bad.”
When they were finally reunited and able to return to their home, they–like so many thousands of other West Virginians–were forced to walk into their home with their faces and noses covered by medical masks to protect them from contaminants as they prepared to clean out their flood-ravaged home. Nothing was spared in their Russellville home. A drive up and down Rt. 41 confirms something else the Sticklers said–they weren’t the only ones dealing with the aftermath of the historic flooding.
13 years ago, Crystal and Dewey moved into the home that Crystal had grown up in. They had hoped to give their three children (ages 16, 14, and 12) the same childhood experiences she had growing up in the quiet community.
“I won’t live here,” Crystal said. “I know that. I won’t put my kids through that again. I love the town. I love the community. I love the people in it, but we’re going to have to live up somewhere higher or go somewhere else.”
“I’m not living here no longer,” Dewey said. “Not going to lose everything again.”
They aren’t sure what’s next, but they are hoping–much like the citizens in Webster County who have experienced huge losses–that Fayette County will also be added to the list of counties currently eligible for federal aid in rebuilding.
The Sticklers were hopeful, at least, that declaration would happen after FEMA and the National Guard went out into the area Monday.
“Just come out and see,” Crystal said. “Come and help us. We need it. There’s lots going on here. Everybody needs to know.”