Team Ragged Glory – Adventure Racing, Multi Sport, Friends

Hello Fellow Racers,

I’m writing to share a story of our teammate from last summer’s urban race, Greg Huffman and his family. Greg and Nicki lost nearly everything last Saturday morning because of flooding at their home in Johnson County. Nicki’s story of the events is below if you’re interested in the details.

Greg and Nicki are youth leaders in our church and have had a great influence on my children. Greg fell in love with AR after his first race.

If any of you are interested in helping, my church is accepting donations for them. There are some specific needs in the story. These are good people; they can use your help. Call me at 317.502.7622 if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Doug Theis
Team Ragged Glory

Hi to all,

Trying to decide what to write regarding our ‘story’ has been sort of difficult, especially trying to decide where to begin. So…here’s what I remember…….

Last Friday night, we heard that bad storms were moving in, so during LINK (youth group event), we would walk outside to see where the clouds were and how fast they were moving. It rained off and on while we were there, but the real rain didn’t start pouring until after we went to sleep. It rained non-stop all evening….and according to later reports, we found that we received 11 inches of rain!

The following morning, Greg and his crew were supposed to meet at our house at 8am and were to head off to a job in Seymour, Indiana. Greg woke me up a little after 8am and I was a little confused since he was still home. He told me that it had rained all night and that it was beginning to flood pretty badly. He told me that cars had already been stalled in the water and had had to be pulled out of the water by the fire department and that some cars were being washed away. I jumped out of bed, a little startled, and went to the front of the house, unable to believe my eyes. The water was flooding the streets and the police had already barricaded our street. Some cars turned around when they approached the barricades, yet many people thought they could move past the barricade and ‘beat’ the standing waters. Little did they know, the water was much deeper the further they went toward the bridge. Our neighbor, Dwayne, was on his porch, daring the cars to go further….and at first, we all found it to be a little comical. “What are these people doing and who do they think they are?!?” I wondered….and then you’d see them attempt to go through the water and not make it….cars were stalling….some were turning around….and others were barely creeping through probably causing damage to their vehicles. I made breakfast for our family and then went back out on the porch to watch the disaster unfold. As I saw car after car cross through the barricade and the water continue to rise, I became more and more afraid. As cars were approaching my house, I would signal for them to turn around. Some would look at me and then turn off on the next street, while others ignored my warnings. While all of this was happening, Greg was making phone calls to his crew members to stay where they were, urging them not to go outside and not to drive in the water. Luckily, each person was safe and sound in a home of their own or another crew member. Greg called the camp where they were supposed to work and told them that our town was unsafe to enter and to leave and that they would have to push everything back several hours until the waters drained a little more. The camp was understanding.

The rain continued to rush down harder and harder and I stood on the front porch, continuing to watch foolish people drive past the barricade and my goofy neighbor usher them on. I would see Greg going outside, watching the waters (Gregory means ‘vigilant watchman”) and he would come in to update me on the status of our backyard. Behind our yard is a small creek—250 feet away and then you go up 4 feet to our concrete patio. You walk another 20-25 feet to reach our back deck and then you walk up another 5 or 6 stairs (this is about 4 feet up in height) to our home, so our house is raised up pretty high from the ground. The waters were up to the concrete patio and continuing to rise. Greg urged me to pack our bags, so I ran upstairs and immediately began packing Josiah’s and my clothes. Greg told me that once the water hit the top of the concrete patio, we would be evacuating the home. I immediately began to feel fearful as I saw the waters continue to rise. Luckily, my Watchman thought ahead to move all of our vehicles to high ground so they wouldn’t be ruined and I am SO glad he did. He saved every vehicle!

About 20 minutes later, Greg came rushing in and he immediately went to the basement to grab some items that were of value to him; mostly camping equipment that his aunt and uncle had just given to us, as well as caving equipment. He brought the bins up and sat them in our hallway. He went back outside and within minutes, came in and asked me how close I was. He said that the water was above the concrete patio and it was time to go. He later told me that it was as if a dam had broken and the water rushed up the patio and immediately hit the deck!

I grabbed my backpack and Josiah’s stuff and grabbed my cell phone to call Anessa (for those of you who don’t know, Anessa Bruno, was living with us and wasn’t there the night before. She had spent the night with the sister of a fellow crew member.) I asked her what she needed me to bring with me and then I grabbed it, along with another suitcase and we headed to the front porch. By the time we headed to the porch and landed on our sidewalk, the water was mid-thigh. I looked across the street at a neighbor who was just sitting on her porch, watching us and I wondered why she looked so calm…and why she, too, wasn’t leaving yet. We had already seen a woman evacuate her home a couple of houses down and it was our turn. We walked down the side walk, wading through thigh-high water….Josiah being held by Greg, in addition to Josiah’s suitcase and two other bags of clothing….and I had my backpack and Anessa’s belongings. We waded through the water for the length of several homes and then made it to higher ground where we found our cars waiting for us. We got in the car and weren’t quite sure what to do or where to go. We were hungry and afraid. We called the Toombs’ home and luckily they answered and said that we could go there. The hard part was finding a way out of Franklin. All of the bridges were being blocked off by police officers because the waters were so high, they were overflowing to the tops of the bridges. Luckily, Greg remembered a road in the back of Franklin College and it worked! We had to go pretty slowly on certain areas, but we made it to the interstate and headed north. We found lunch and then headed to the Toombs’ home. We even ran into problems up north with all of the flooding and had to find detours through Southport in order to make it to their home in one piece. Upon arriving, we ate lunch while watching the news. The news coverage was awful and didn’t cover anything in Franklin. Greg and I became too antsy and anxious and decided to head south towards Franklin again, despite the warnings that the town of Franklin had been blocked from leaving or entering. We knew Josiah would be safe with the Toombs family, so we headed to Franklin in hopes of seeing our home.

We’re pretty smart. 🙂 We found a really good way in….the way we left! And we parked in the Franklin College parking lot. The only way to avoid walking through the flooded waters was to walk on top of the railroad tracks, so we jumped on top of them. I was so afraid….so anxious to see our home….and I began to run down the tracks. I turned the corner to find our other two vehicles (Greg’s work truck and his personal vehicle) safe and dry but what I saw beyond that will probably never leave my mind. The gas station that is four buildings down and on higher ground had extremely high waters….so high that most of the trash cans next to the gas pumps were completely covered. I ran to the end of the street and saw my home. The sadness I felt, I can’t explain. The tree in front of our home was covered in at least six feet of water and our home was immersed. The current of the creek was so intense…it looked like someone had taken a violent river and placed homes in the middle of it. I won’t describe how emotional I got….I’m sure you can imagine.

The next few hours were torment. The waters were going down too slow and we were trying to wade through waters in an attempt to get closer to the home to see the damage but it was impossible. The current was too strong and the waters too deep. We had no idea what was in the water nor did we know if electric was still on in those areas, which could result in our electrocution. So…we played the waiting game. We watched teenage boys play in the water in front of our house….that’s another story in itself on how I reacted to that….ask me if you really want to know….and people would go in canoes to their homes to try to save personal belongings that they thought they might be able to. It really didn’t work, though, because most of the water damage was done.

The strange thing is that the electricity NEVER went out in any of the homes surrounding us or in ours. Our entire breaker was submerged in water and it never turned off. We even saw a small local restaurant which is caddy-cornered from our house that had a small window air conditioner….the water was completely covering the air conditioner and it was STILL running!!

Greg and I stayed in Franklin til roughly 2:45am. We attempted to enter the water towards our home around midnight, but the current was still too strong and the water too high, so we waited. Because the water was going down approximately 6 inches an hour, we waited another hour. We then attempted to go in one more time. With flashlight in hand and his wife holding on to his back, my Watchman led the way to our home. We entered on the west side of the home, which was really a great thing (I’ll explain why later) and when we got to the door, Greg unlocked it and pushed the door open. We refused to enter at first because we heard a very strange sound…it sounded like Josiah’s battery operated toys were dying…and it was the freakiest sound. With our hearts pounding and our feet touching the ground very carefully, we entered the disaster. The noise was the ADT alarm system we have, responding to the opening of the door, so it wasn’t that big of a deal. The problems that we immediately saw and smelled were a kerosene-like smell that was SO strong, it made us have headaches….everything was thrown around the house, everything was obviously soaking wet, Josiah’s toys from his toy room were displaced into the kitchen and strewn throughout the house and it looked like brown paint was all over the floor. It was extremely slippery (in addition to the flip flops on my feet). We didn’t stay long….only enough to assess the damage and then we headed back. At first, I was okay….realizing that water can be ‘beaten’ with water yet not understanding the gas smell. We then went back to the Toombs’ house where we found Diane on the floor with Josiah….what an amazing woman….! She stayed up with him all day and night and as he struggled to go to sleep, she slept with him on a pallet on the floor. She could smell us as we entered her house because the smell was overwhelming….and what WAS it?

The next day we awoke and put on our game faces. Greg’s dad arrived and he and Greg and I headed to the house. It looked like war had taken place in our town. We pulled in the driveway and I walked over to the side of the house to find that our foundation had caved in. It was there that I lost it….it is approximately 8 feet long and 64 inches wide….and the gassy smell was emitting from the basement. Our neighbor called the fire department while I just kneeled down on the ground and wept. Water damage is one thing…foundation damage is another. My father-in-law did his best to console me until the fire department came. They told us that the smell emitting from our home is an old fuel oil tank that had leaked or burst and that it had gone into the water, contaminating our home, the soil around it and possibly countless other places, including water lines and possibly our neighbors’ homes, as well. When I explained that it was a good thing that we entered the home from the west side of the home….had we entered from the east side, one or both of us could have fallen into the hole of the foundation the night before and could have really been injured. It was so good that Greg had us enter from the west. Another great decision on his part!!

I really didn’t understand it all and am still struggling to understand the impact of fuel oil as I read online articles and various documents on the impact of fuel oil on your home, your belongings, and the soil surrounding your home, in addition to the air you breathe and various other issues.

After dealing with some immediate issues, I went in to the house to begin salvaging everything we could from upstairs. We had a girl, Ashley, an old friend of mine, come to help, so she helped go through some of the items. This day was spent packing up what wasn’t affected by the water and trying to salvage what was and discard the things that couldn’t be saved. According to the Johnson County Emergency Management, our home is considered an environmental hazard and we have been placed on the top of the priority list for FEMA once they start dealing with the residential component of this disaster. As of today, FEMA has not made themselves known to the public and we are all sitting around waiting for them to arrive to meet with the homeowners in order to assess the damage and move forward. Based on what I’ve heard from various people, this could take weeks before occurring. This is why our home is emptied and we are moving forward on trying to find housing and trying to apply for as much help as we can get.

In a nutshell, our garage was completely damaged. This contained all of Greg’s business supplies and some equipment, all of our lawn equipment (including shears, weed control stuff, etc), my old trophies (this was a big bummer when I just found them two days ago), old file cabinets, old equipment from Greg’s auto detailing shop, tools, etc.

Our basement was entirely destroyed. This contained many of Greg’s personal items, such as an antique guitar, computer equipment, a refrigerator, foosball table, a brand new water heater, all of his caving equipment (head lamps (8 or 9), helmets, etc….a sword he had gotten that was very special to him, Josiah’s life jacket, etc.

Our first floor had water approximately 2.5 feet deep. Everything that was touched by the water directly has been destroyed. We lost everything in the bathroom (brand new shower curtain, rugs, everything in the lower cabinets), all of our bath towels and wash rags. The only thing that made it in our bathroom were some personal items in a tall cabinet. The kitchen lost a lot: brand new refrigerator, our stove, kitchen table and chairs, everything in the lower cabinets (platters, pots and pans, all cleaning supplies, crock pots, casserole dishes, mixing bowls, hand mixer, blender, chopper, etc), pantry contents (food, card table and chairs, Josiah’s card table and chairs, family sized griddle, etc), white cabinet holding important documents.

Family room lost a couch (the MOST comfortable couch in the world), everything on the bottom two shelves of the bookshelf, save for the items my friends were able to salvage, a buffet that was refurbished (and all contents in the bottom two drawers), the carpet in that room, and some pillows and suitcases that we had tried to pack but needed to leave in order to get out of the house.

Guest bedroom: my hope chest, a 5×5 canvas, a treadmill, a LOT of blankets, two brand new sleeping bags, my guitar and case, craft items, Anessa’s clothing and shoes, my worship binder and guitar books, and various items in the closet.

Hall: rug and possibly 50 freeset bags for the women of Stewart Cooperative. We are desperately trying to save these. The special camping equipment that Greg tried to save didn’t make it, either, which is really disappointing….

Josiah’s toy room: Only one bucket of toys so far has made it. Everything else has been destroyed.

Front room: large tv, dvd player, large overstuff couch and chair, two tables, multiple blankets (including Josiah’s embroidered baby blanket), shag rug, PS2, surround sound system, small heater for the room, small tables to eat at, and leather footstool….multiple movies belonging to Josiah were ruined. Sharise Toombs surprised him today with a new movie “Cars” and he was really excited!

Mud room: our brand new, custom made family locker (we’re trying to salvage it, but I don’t think it’s going to make it), all of our shoes, rugs, my Young Lungs equipment I use to teach the program, many painting supplies, a booster seat of Josiah’s (for travel), and various small items that were hanging on the locker, like jackets.

The upstairs has a lot of items that were saved but the problems arose when the smell of the fuel oil arose into the second floor. Some women have washed the clothes 6 or 7 times to get the smell out….some have been successful and some not.

I went to the home yesterday to find the back door wide open and fresh footprints throughout the house. It appears that someone had broken in to take a look around to find something to steal. There were mud prints smeared on the side of the house, looking as if someone had climbed in through the window and used the side of the house as leverage to get it. Anyone looking around would find nothing to salvage. Anything left in the home is ruined. Yesterday was not a good day for me.

Although much of this email seems sad because of the loss, I must say that the overwhelming love that has poured out from our friends and family has left me speechless. We had nearly 20 people at our home on Sunday; some we had never even met before, packing up our things, weeding through fuel oil, trying to save anything of mine that meant something….women on ‘picture’ and ‘scrapbook’ duty to save my special things….men carrying furniture and packing up a trailer that was loaned to us….and then at the church, there were many people there to pick up what we had packed, wash them, and pack them in the church lodge. From the gift cards and money to the time and energy spent on washing my clothes and organizing my personal stuff….I am overwhelmed with gratitude. Thank you to each and every one of you who have called, written, prayed, donated, helped, washed, scrubbed, lifted, organized, taken special care of bikes, and special toys for my son, emailed, and shown the Huffman’s and Anessa what we mean to you. I am honored. truly honored.

At this time, I go through cycles of emotion ranging from autopilot (this is when I speak with most of you and I seem okay) to sadness to disgust to anger….I still feel extremely vulnerable on all levels and because there is no one to direct my anger towards, I cycle through that emotion quickly. I find myself the most upset when I find that people have rummaged through my lost belongings or broken into my home….or over the loss of very sentimental, important things that can never be replaced. I find comfort in the laughter of my son, yet I find despair in his cries to ‘go home.’ I find comfort in the emails reminding me of God’s great love for me, yet I go through moments where I feel very, very alone. I find comfort in the memory of watching my Husband fulfill his duties of “Watchman” and Protector and find sadness when there were circumstances beyond even his control. I am overjoyed when friends call or write or show up with money and gift cards and wonder why I don’t hear a thing from those I expected the most from.

I know that God has not left us. I know that He loves us with deep, passionate, intense love, impossible for any of us to understand. I am still a believer of this. I believe that the road ahead is going to be hard as we face insurance battles, work with FEMA, and struggle to replace lost personal belongings. We are a family unit of three, yet we accepted Anessa into our home, so as far as we’re concerned, she is a victim of this flood just as we are and we are counting this a very big loss for her, as well.

As a side note, people keep asking about our insurance coverage, so I’ll briefly explain: There are approximately 9 levels of flood insurance, all with different coverage clauses. Our insurance coverage is very minimal: $30,000 for structural damage ONLY. This only includes the foundation and any structural issues; this does not include dry wall or flooring or cabinets or anything of that nature. Back in the 1950’s, our home experienced a flood and the home was raised four feet higher as a result. No one expected a flood to do what it did….this was considered the 100 year flood we hear so much about. We figured we’d be okay. Home owners insurance doesn’t cover anything related to a flood, therefore, this is not an option, either. Our only hope is that FEMA steps in and helps us with our home. We aren’t even sure at this point if we have a desire to return with the fuel oil and the damage it has caused. The smell is overwhelming and based on the research I’ve done, has carcinogenic possibilities and other issues that we could face if the issue is not resolved properly.

People keep asking what we need and at this point, our immediate needs are taken care of. We are living in the basement of the Toombs’ home, are eating and eating well (Diane sure can cook!) and the business is still trying to function despite the loss of a big day last Saturday. Most of our clothing has been saved, although Greg and I are still very limited on shoes.

Here are the basic needs that we foresee:

I still have to go through our belongings that are being held at our church lodge in Indy to find out what is salvagable and what isn’t.

Greg lost many work shirts (they were in the dryer) and needs to have those replaced sometime soon. A Dick’s Sporting Goods card would be good to help replace those (as well as for his shoes).

As we transition into another place to live (it looks like an apartment), we will need furniture (we have NONE except for bedroom furniture), so money might help replace those. Gift cards would help for Walmart or Target and it is my understanding that some friends are setting up an account for us for people to donate money on our behalf—aren’t people amazing?!?

Anessa loves to get her clothes from Thrift stores so any thrift store gift cards would be good (Goodwill or Value World).

There will be more things to come….but until FEMA and the insurance adjuster show up, it will just be a matter of waiting, going through things, mourning over what is lost, and looking ahead to what is in the future.

I know this is long….but this is our story. Thanks for reading.

Nicki Huffman

Links to pictures

http://www.theindychannel.com/slideshow/16538915/detail.htmlindex.html?currentSlide=41&taf=ind

http://www.theindychannel.com/slideshow/16538915/detail.htmlindex.html?currentSlide=40&taf=ind

http://www.theindychannel.com/slideshow/16538915/detail.htmlindex.html?currentSlide=32&taf=ind