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'You pick up the pieces and you maintain with what you have.... We haven't even had time to cry yet.'— Colleen Matthews, of Lakeland Drive In Perkins Township.PERKINS■ FROM PAGE A1According to Eilene Guy, a spokeswoman for the Eirelands Chapter of the American Red Cross, emotional responses to the enormity of a disaster and the loss people experience is to be expected.Colleen Matthews, a corrections officer at the Erie County Jail, has lived in a home on Lakeland Drive for 12 years with her husband. Perkins Police Lt. Al Matthews.AfterTaft viewed the damage to the home, Colleen Matthews said the weight of the flood damage hasn’t sunk into her thinking yet.I have no words, Colleen Matthews said. It’s indescribable. You pick up the pieces and vou maintain with what you have. But I’m throwing things out and it’s like. ’Oh, my god.’ We haven’t even had time to cry yet. We look at each other and say, 'We re going to make this. We re going to get through this. The Matthewses grabbed what they could. They're living out of boxes in a hotel room with their dog.Tiana. thankful for the support they've received from family members, the Erie County Sheriff 's office. Perkins Police Department, and neighbors.The Matthews’ neighbors credit Al with alerting them to the rising water and mobilizing help from the PerkinsTownship safety forces.Perkins Police officer Jonah Roesch, 33, said he was sleeping about 9:30 a.m. Thursday in his home across the street from the Matthews house when Al woke him up.The water in the street, which had receded some after the initial rain, was marching up Roesch’s driveway an inch a minute, he said.As soon as the water entered the garage it poured into the basement. Roesch described for Taft damage to concrete block walls which are bowed out with mortar missing and half-inch gaps between blocks.“You would love to see my basement walls, Roesch said. ‘They're a sight.”A Perkins Police cruiser in Roesch’s driveway was flooded and was towed away. Roesch’s personal vehicle was totaled by the insurance company. Single with no children, Roesch said he’s dealing with multiple insurance companies in the next few days.My house is gone, and my cars, Roesch said. I’m trying to keep myself in one piece. The wall was bowed, but it wasn't caved in. I wasn’t in it. I’m thankful no one was hurt.”The lack of injuries was amazing since neighborhood residents were removed from their homes when water reached at least to Roesch’s chest, he said.Since Greg Ogle had found a room Thursday at Fairfield Inn for his wife, Jackie, and two oftheir Chihuahuas, and temporary homes for three of the Chihuahuas, Ogle intended to spend the night in his flooded home. The first floor seemed fine. Ogle had pop to drink and snacks to eat. He hoped to spend a quiet evening watching television in the home they have lived in for 10 years.But about 7 p.m. someone cut the power off to the neighborhood.I wasn’t real happy about
Newspaper Details
Sandusky Register
Sandusky, Ohio, US
Sun, Jun 25, 2006
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Sandusky P.
OH, USA 11 Sep 2024
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