(Letter to the Editor - Graphic Illustration/MetroCreativeConnection)

Happy Valley was once a beautiful area, approximately five miles outside the city of Parkersburg, very close to WVU-Parkersburg, with river frontage on the Little Kanawha River. Some of the homes were year-round homes, and others were summer homes, like mine. Some of my family’s greatest memories are from the summers that we all spent together at our cottage on the river. Some of the owners had flood insurance, others did not. That is where the nightmare begins.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency decided to buy out the houses on the river that were subject to flooding, which some were. The agency went through the Wood County Commission to buy these houses. After purchasing those homes, they tore them down and in the process, they leveled out the plots. In so doing, they covered up the rain water drainage on some of those properties.

Therein lies the problem! By covering up their drainage, the water backed up and, as water does, it found a home under the road, eventually destroying one section of the road, making it almost impossible to navigate unless the traveler might be on horseback. I personally have to slow to a crawl in order to work my way though that section to get back on the road.

The Wood County Commission turned the road over to the state to take care of. Should an emergency arise, an ambulance could not get in to some of the properties. This creates a tremendous liability for those entities who were entrusted with restoring the parts of the road that were destroyed by this critical mistake. This is no simple case of filling in the holes and gaps in the road. Drains must be put in place before properly repairing the damage.

The property owners feel that FEMA or our state should repair the damage that was caused.

As a current homeowner at Happy Valley, I have chosen to bring this to the attention of those who may be responsible for a quick solution to this growing problem. I am not a legal representative for Happy Valley residents, but I have collected signatures from other concerned residents.

Don Duty

Parkersburg