Local communities generous in support of flood victims

Flood

This Talking Code article was created to provide a simple, easy to read way of trying to get little bits of information out to the general public.

Having been around code enforcement and municipal affairs for well over 30 years, the most common thread in any Town, Village or City is people are generally not aware of the different local laws that impact their properties.

In creating this article, certain self-imposed rules were adopted including: No photo of the writer and always, always, always avoid using terms like “I,” “my” and “me.”

Why? Again, pretty simple. This article is to provide information, specifics on codes, ordinances, local laws, rules and regulations.

It was not intended to be about “I,” “my” or “me.”

Well, this time the rule will be bent just a little… but not too far.

Recently, the local Masonic Lodge in Old Forge did a clothing, bedding, and basic necessities collection drive for new or clean used stuff to benefit the flood victims in New York State.

Accordingly, The Weekly Adirondack was asked if they would print a little public announcement in the paper. And without hesitation they did.

That one little announcement, and word of mouth, generated a mountain of clothes, blankets, pillows, toiletries, food and other goods.

Everything was dropped off at the Park Ave Office Building [where the Code Office is located].

This past Saturday, the 24th of September, North-South Connec-tion Trailer Sales of Old Forge graciously offered to let us use one of their huge box trailers to haul all this stuff down to Schoharie, New York…a two-and-a-half hour drive.

The trailer was full. It was guessed about 5,000 pounds of stuff.

What an eye opening experience this was to drive down there and see firsthand the devastation.

Imagine mud flood line going through Old Forge business, professional and residential areas at or above your eye line. It was a complete and utter muddy, smelly mess.

Everything collected was delivered to the Masonic Lodge on Main Street in Schoharie, up to the second floor.

And they have people trying to sort and organize everything.

They plan on just letting people that lost everything come in to take whatever it is they can use.

We saw houses toppled, upside down, pushed off foundations and into their neighbor’s house; police station, fire station, post office, restaurants, stores and the Town Hall had seven feet of mud on the first floor.

In a few extreme cases, not only was the house gone but the land it was on is gone as well. Just simply gone.

Thank you to everyone who dropped off something at Park Ave.

This was a quiet attempt to help another community and people in need, and it was a privilege to have driven down there on behalf of the Town of Webb and Town of Inlet communities.

And that’s how it was delivered, on behalf of our communities. The Local Masonic Lodge was only the delivery mechanism.

To get in a little stuff about codes…

Can you imagine the code issues following a catastrophic event like this? Where do you start?

And if you live near a river, and are trying desperately to get out of the Flood Zone… I bet some of those people in Schoharie wished they had flood insurance.

And we worry about property line setbacks and hand rails!!!