Load After Load Of Debris

Massive debris removal from the weekend flooding is well underway in many Middle Tennessee communities.

In Franklin, Mayor John Schroer walks along Burlington Pass, a street in the Fieldstone Farms subdivision that was inundated by the Harpeth River over the weekend. Neighbors are sweeping water out of their garages and dumping hundreds of pounds of soaked insulation, mattresses, rugs and clothes, on the sidewalk.

“The “read” is that everybody’s thankful they’re alive, and glad to be back with their homes, even though they’ve had some water with them. They’re working hard. The city’s trying to give them all the help they possibly can.”

A truck-mounted crane grabs big items and drops them in a waiting dump truck.

“Yeah, you can see a continuous line of dump trucks, … we’re picking up debris as fast as they can put it out.”

City worker Jack Goins is working to fill up the trucks.

“Debris that they have, that they want taken away, we’re just out, dragging it away for them, loading it up and hauling it away. The city was nice enough to let us do it, so we’re out here just helping out where we can.”

Goins and his five-man crew don’t normally do this kind of work.

“We’re normally the Street Department, Traffic Division. And we’re just helping the Sanitation out, our department’s out here helping out.”

On Gastonbury Drive, Trent Latta’s home backs up to the flood plain. He says the Harpeth stayed out of his living area by inches. Latta’s garage was soaked, and the ductwork under the house ruined.

“I was under the house last night until about eleven, pulling out insulation, and the city just came by and picked it all up. We’ve … been fortunate. Some of our neighbors here didn’t fare so well. They’ve got a lot of water in their house…and we’ve just been blessed to be a part of this community.”

Mayor Schroer says the neighborhood seems relieved. He points down Burlington Pass to two houses standing on the north side. They burned in the midst of the emergency.

“What I’m always impressed with is the attitudes of the people who seem to be hurt the worst. I just met the family whose house burned down, and …they were grateful that nobody died, and that they’re here, and they were worried about their neighbors and the flood.”

Schroer says community has pulled together and done much of the cleanup themselves, as city departments and public utilities work to get gas lines and electricity turned back on.