Little River Club residents say they’re determined to stay put amid encroaching floodwaters.
Little River Club residents to stay put amid encroaching floodwaters
WINTHROP, Ark.— Floodwaters have reached some porches and decks at Little River Club, but longtime residents have seen conditions a lot worse and plan to stay put.
“We’ve been through this before,” resident Sharon Phillips said.
She said the water had reached her back steps, but was “two steps” short of reaching the level it did in 1990.
Phillips lives on the end of a road near the Little River in a part of the community where floodwaters are highest.
Little River Club is a private club and community on the Little River near Winthrop, Ark., in Little River County. It is also just a stone’s throw from Horatio, Ark., in Sevier County.
According to a Little River Club Facebook page, the river crested at 31.25 feet on Wednesday.
A deck frequently used for fishing and sunbathing was halfway submerged in water.
Water also covered a good portion of the club’s golf course.
Crews were working Thursday to remove limbs and other debris after Monday’s storm. Many residents remain without power as a result of the storm.
Resident Mark Dunn lives near the river on one of the club’s lower roads, but has no plans to leave.
He said he does not know any residents who plan to evacuate and does not believe the conditions will be as bad as they were in 1990.
One resident had some water in a room of his cabin earlier in the week, but the water has receded, according to neighbors.
He said some club residents met with Little River Sheriff’s Office and would be kept notified of changing flood conditions.
“One problem will be if they keep letting water out at Lake Texoma,” he said.
Dunn has had a cabin at Little River Club since 1986 and remembers the 1990 Red River Flood vividly.
He said the Mountain Fork River and Broken Bow Lake spill into the Little River, along with water from De Queen Lake.
Phillips and Dunn agree living on the river is worth the occasional weather concern.
“It’s a great place to raise kids, and it’s nice being on the river. I fish all of the time,” Dunn said.
The club was established in 1928.
It’s a great place to raise kids, and it’s nice being on the river. I fish all of the time.”
—Mark Dunn, resident