RAINELLE, W.Va. — The town celebrated a refurbished Rite Aid pharmacy Wednesday morning, a not-so-small step in the recovery process more than two months after historic flooding.
“The store looks beautiful,” Mayor Andi Pendleton said Wednesday morning on MetroNews “Talkline” with Hoppy Kercheval. “It’s a new beginning for Rainelle, the way it looks. I mean, for them to invest that type of money, showing that Rainelle is coming back.”
The Greenbrier County town saw several hundred water rescues while flood waters caused widespread damage and displacing hundreds of residents.
Pendleton said Rite Aid’s response to the flooding was immediate and reassuring. The drug store chain wasn’t leaving.
“Rite-Aid moved right in and started to move the debris out and brought the trailer in,” she said. “There wasn’t any doubt that they weren’t returning.”
Amid a number of ongoing projects to restore the town, Pendleton said the Rite Aid’s restoration was an important start.
“People were outside and we cut the ribbon,” she said. “Nothing but praise to the store.”
Fundraising through the Rainelle Community Development Corporation provided $500 checks “to all the mom and pop stores in appreciation that they have opened,” Pendleton said.
At least 10 home-building projects are expected to start by December, courtesy of the Appalachian Service Project. The first home, already under construction, could be completed by Oct. 14.
“FEMA’s moving out today, but the positives of everything going forward is not stopping in it’s tracks,” Pendleton said.
Additionally, Pendelton praised representatives from Southern Baptist Disaster Relief and Good Samaritan for remaining in Rainelle to assist with the recovery.