The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Lions Club helps those affected by winter flood
Members brave several feet of snow to help residents impacted by Mother Nature
VIENNA » Denise Shaw of Sylvan Beach says the winter weather has really taken a devastating blow at her home and others throughout her neighborhood. Inmid-January, some 100 residents had to be evacuated when they saw the worst flooding in 50 years. And a month later, a major snow storm dumped several feet of snow over the already-tasked residents even as they tried to recover from the floods.
Then a knock on the door on March3 remindedher andhusband William Shaw that they were not forgotten in their trials with nature. Several local Lions Club members were walking around the area, often through deep piles of snow, stopping by the homes that had been the most seriously impacted by the torrent. There, they gave the residents gift cards tohelpwith their recovery.
“It was the best blessing ever,” said Denise. “Honestly, it was a Godsend. We had just been through the flood and then up to four feet of snow, and we had limbs down in the yard. It was really a little bit of a relief to know that someone cared.”
“It was just a wonderful gesture,” agreed William. “The money might not have been a lot, but the thought that came with it was priceless.”
Canastota Lions Dr. Kerry Brown, Wynne Shaul and Jeff Huss and Camden Lions Michelle Brayman and Mike Young journeyed out on that snowy March 3, meeting up at Mary’s Diner on Vienna Road in Blossvale before heading to
“Themoneymight not have been a lot, but the thought that camewithit was priceless.”
– Denise Shaw
deliver their well-wishes. Brown, a past Lions district governor, said there were 75 families in the effected area who received the outreach of two $50 gift cards. Those cards were for Bucks & Bolts Hardware and Outfitters, which Denise said they visited for repair items, and Dollar General, where they went for bleach and other cleaning supplies.
Huss, a past president with the Canastota Lions and retired firefighter, said that the flood situation in January was exacerbated by an ice jam at the Higginsville bridge, causing the waters to overflow the banks. Although the residents nearby were evacuated, there was never a state of emergency declared, so they weren’t eligi- ble for any financial help in their repairs and recovery.
“I went down there and saw the piles of garbage and water lines on the fronts of houses and up to mid-bumper on a F-150 truck,” Huss said of his own inspection of the area following the flood. “Nobody was helping those people out. We decided we needed to do something for them.”
Huss said he was struck by the scenes of tow trucks attempting to pull frozen vehicles fromthe icy masses in the garages where they were parked, and saddened by the thought that with the power off, the electricpowered sump pumps in the homes would no longer be maintaining safe water levels.
William Shaw recalled he woke up early on the day of the flood to see water coming in their back door. He got out the carpet cleaner to try to remove the water, but it was just coming too fast -- then the challenge became one of saving whatever they could from what was now obviously a serious problem.
Denise said it sounded like they had a river running underneath their house. When they were evacuated along with other residents to the Vienna First Methodist Church on Route 49 right near Bucks & Bolts, they spent the day there wondering if they would even have a home to go back to when it was all over.
They’ve been drying out their home and belongings ever since, and Denise said they‘ve found oddities like petrified frogs indoors left by the flooding. And keeping the heat up high since January hasmeant refilling their kerosene tank three times already -- twice their normal usage for the winter time.
When they realized the residents weren’t getting other assistance, the Canastota Lions met to see if all of their membership was in favor of the outreach, something that went beyond their typical aid to the sight- and hearing-impaired. They agreed. Meanwhile, Oneida-Sherrill Lions Club president Pat Fearon was also at that meeting, and approached her own chapter about helping out.
“The Canastota Lions did a great job coordinating all of this,” Fearon complimented. “They got us all together to help out where we could, and I‘m sure the people appreciated it.”
Then donations started to come in from Lions Clubs all over the area. The unified group of benefactors included donations made by the Lions Clubs of Canastota, Camden, Chittenango, Hamilton, Oneida- Sherrill, Pompey, and Rome. Their funds were augmented by an emergency grant from the New York State and Bermuda Lions Foundation, secured by Brown, as well as the generosity of Bucks & Bolts as a business sponsor.
“I have to give the credit to the Lions Club members for this,” said Bucks & Bolts manager Jacob Buckingham. “Where nobody else was helping they stepped right up. I thank the Lions for what this -- they did all of the hard work, while we just did the easy stuff.”
The Lions compiled a list of the families that were the hardest hit by the flooding, Huss said. Then they went out to knock on their doors.
“A lot of them couldn’t believe that somebody was doing this for them,” Huss added, saying even as they were out making their deliveries he got an immediate “thank you“message on his phone that was emailed to him.
Brown said he even had a few of the residents he visited actually reject their offer of help.
“They said the water hadn’t really done that much damage to them so to give it to somebody else who had it worse than they did,” he recalled.
Brown said his favorite part of the outreach was being able to join together with so many other Lions Club members to benefit a group of people in need in a nearby community. From the initial inspiration to do something for some neighbors, the project went on to include the help of dozens of local Lions.
“I really liked the way it started out slowly, and then it all came together,” Brown said. “That was a great experience. The people I visited were very appreciative.”
“I thank the Lions for what this — they did all of the hardwork, while we just did the easy stuff.”
— Pat Fearon, Oneida-Sherrill Lions Club president