Pocono News Section

Shickshinny Flood Plan

Shickshinny Flood Plan - Tuesday, September 18, 2007 at 10:11PM EST

Reported by: Joe Holden
Tuesday, Sep 18, 2007 @10:11pm EST

ShickShinny, Luzerne County- When the Susquehanna River runs 27 feet, it spells trouble for parts of Shickshinny. At 30-feet, half the town is inundated with water. Luzerne County says it has money to bail out these parts of the flood-prone Shickshinny.

The question for a number of homeowners living in Shickshinny is, do they raise their homes, elevate them higher to protect them from the river. Or do they have their homes razed, by allow the county to come in and buy them out? Well most say they're passionate here in this community.

Shickshinny has been ravaged time and time again by floods. Surprisingly, most want to stay despite the hassle.

Patty Murphy from Shickshinny stated "It's great people, I love it here. We moved here in 2004 and I don't want to leave, I want to stay."

For years, county engineers have been ironing out a plan to keep homes dry. Jim Brozena of the Luzerne County Flood Protection said "From the long-term federal perspective, the best thing we could do is acquire the properties, demolish them and return that land to mother nature."

17 homes along the canal and the Susquehanna have been targeted to be either demolished or elevated out of the Susquehanna's way. There's 7.5 million dollars available for the project.

Mayor Beverly Moore remains skeptical. Mayor Moore said "We need the county to put their money where their mouth is. Come down here, help us out. We're not asking for phenomenal amounts. We have people who want to stay here in Shickshinny.

Mayor Moore says she doesn't want residents running from the river. Instead she wants to see the money needed to elevate homes and not just clear them off the map. Moore "We're moving forward. Anybody who wants to come down here and be part of our moving forward. We welcome you. "

Some residents say they're not waiting for the county to come through with a plan. Many say they're working on plans to raise their homes and they have the papers to do just that.