7/15/93
By: Brien Murphy
Courier-Post Staff Writer

CANTON - Many battles have been lost in other communities, but Canton has, so far, won its war with the Mississippi River.

A positive attitude has helped dozens of volunteers and Culver-Stockton College employees hold back the Great Flood of 1993, despite almost daily reports of levee breaks, flooded farmland and transportation snafus.

Many of the people volunteering their time for flood relief at Culver-Stockton College Sunday wore green pins claiming "Canton Can Beat the Flood of 1993." T-shirts at the flood command post proudly state, "I Fought the Flood of 1993 at Culver-Stockton College."

Canton's levee is the only levee remaining between Hannibal and the Iowa border on the Missouri side of the Mississippi River. Levee walkers said Sunday it takes two hours to inspect the entire length of the levee for boils, seepage and leaks.

"We're watching, waiting," said Terry Fretwell, Canton's emergency operations director just outside the command post in the Herrick Foundation Center on campus. "We're doing maintenance. We can win this thing."

C-SC is a key part of the battle, Fretwell said. The college turned over the campus to the city when flood waters rose so high that they threatened to come over the levee's top.

The river was at 26.03 feet Sunday afternoon, rising toward a predicted crest of 28.5 feet.

During the summer, the campus "is a very quiet place," said C-SC Vice President Robert Rickett Sunday, because most students are home. But 1993 is no normal summer, and the campus is full of activity ranging from helicopter landings to young children watching videotapes and swimming.

Canton Mayor Jesse Franks issued an advisory evacuation notice July 7. Since then, nearly 600 Canton residents, businesspeople and Missouri National Guard soldiers have moved into the residence halls.

That number grew Friday night when residents were warned to get out of their homes when a large boil developed on the levee. Malfunctioning valves on old pipes and a malfunctioning pump nearly created a disaster, but volunteers and National Guard soldiers rescued the levee. The incident occurred just hours after the West Quincy levee burst.

"I can't thank the college enough," Fretwell said. "They've totally turned over everything on campus."

Rickett said, "We're part of the community ... we feel this is something we should do."

Necessary services were given space in the school's buildings, which are located up on "The Hill" away from the business district.

All city offices moved into the Herrick center after Franks' advisory. Blessing Hospital has a triage unit in the Student Center for first aid. Nurses and at least one paramedic were on duty Sunday.

Pat Ellison of the Lewis County Health Department said the college also has a landing pad near the football field for a helicopter from the hospital in case of an emergency. Helicopter flights to the hospital are free during the flood, she added.

Elsewhere in the Student Center, the evacuated residents and soldiers are receiving three free meals a day, Rickett said.

"We've received donations from all over," he said, showing off shelves of cereal, snacks and vegetables. "A radio station in Columbus, Ohio, adopted Canton and they are collecting items for us."

It takes "an army of volunteers" to prepare meals for hundreds of people, Rickett said, because most students ordinarily employed at food service are away for the summer.

Vital businesses, including banks, doctors and the post office, also are on campus, C-SC Vice President Janice Stroh said. She said they may stay as long as they need to, but other arrangements must be made if the flood is still high when students return in August.

Much younger students whose families have evacuated their homes closer to the levee spent Sunday watching "Cinderella" in the president's dining room. Others were allowed to use the college swimming pool while their parents used the weight room. Volleyball, movie nights and The Cat's Pause lounge all are open to those seeking shelter.

Worship services were scheduled throughout the day Sunday on campus. Bulletin boards at the Student Center announced the times.

The National Guard also is keeping a number of large trucks and equipment on campus, and those who were off-duty chatted with Canton residents and C-SC students near the Student Center.

While C-SC has given much to Canton during the emergency, nearby towns like Hannibal, Kirksville, Macon, and others have provided food, sandbags and volunteers, Fretwell said. Having the National Guard on duty also has relieved tired volunteers, he added.