Rep. Charles Graham was there to help, but he and the team of folks he helped assemble to get input from the public concerning the flooding caused by hurricanes Matthew and Florence became targets.
Speaker after speaker stepped forward Tuesday night during a forum at Robeson Community College to express their frustration that Florence’s flooding could take place after what happened during Matthew, the implication being clear: Why wasn’t something done during the interim?
It was not unexpected considering many of those people who spoke have now lost a lot not once, but twice, and seem unable to get any kind of guarantee that it could not happen again.
There were concerns about what will happen in other areas should floodgates be installed at the CSX railroad intersection with Interstate 95 and the suggestion that the dyke should not be plugged but widened instead as a way to protect areas west and to the north.
There was frustration about the agonizingly slow pace in the delivery of financial aid to victims of Matthew, and now exists the worry that the same slow delivery will follow Florence, although early indications are that will not happen.
Perhaps the most disappointing news from Tuesday night — and to those in the know it was not a surprise — is that the Lumber River, because it is not considered navigable except perhaps by canoe, kayak or small motorboat, is not eligible for dredging from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Remember, it was shortly after Florence that Tim Moore, the N.C. House speaker, visited Lumberton and promised that the General Assembly would work to essentially fix the Lumber River and the streams, canals and tributaries that feed it. Beyond clearing them of fallen trees,d ebris and trash, we aren’t sure what that would entail or whether the state will pay for it.
Apparently, it would take an act of Congress, literally, to dredge the river, and we don’t know the practically of doing so or the potential effectiveness. Then there is the environmental impact on a 115-mile-long Natural and Scenic River that is also a state park.
Rob Price, an attorney for Drainage Districts 1, 2 and 4 in and around Lumberton, said the districts have spent $600,000 to clean 81 miles of canals and ditches — and much more work needs to be done.
And then the obvious problem: “We don’t have the funds,” Price said.
Jerry Frye, a representative for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, urged more of what is in short supply — patience.
“People want instant action,” Frye said. “This is a marathon, not a sprint. We have to make sure what we do does not hurt someone up or downstream.”
The disconnect, and the question that is not ever answered to satisfaction, is why more wasn’t done after Matthew, and how can we trust that there will now be action after Florence.
Graham has been aggressive in pushing for a coalition that can pool the resources, to include money and minds, that will be necessary to ensure that never again will the Lumber River rise to swallow so many of us as it has now done twice. As a member of a committee established by the General Assembly that also includes Rep. Brenden Jones and Sen. Danny Britt, they have been tasked with doing more than talk, but turn those words into action.
Only when that happens will the seas of frustration that was evident on Tuesday night begin to recede.