Janesville Update II

the rock river has crested. but as the janesville gazette notes, it appears to be in no hurry to recede:

Floodwaters have receded an infinitesimal amount since cresting Saturday.

At Newville, floodwaters have gone down 0.15 of a foot, that's 1.8 inches; at Indianford, 0.12 foot, that is 1.44 inches ; and at Afton, 0.09 foot, that is 1.08 inches.

Want some perspective on those numbers?

The river at Afton, which remains more than 4 feet over flood stage, has gone down the width of a fork tine.

The river at Indianford has gone down the width of two toothpicks.

At Newville, it’s down the width of a No. 2 pencil eraser.

If you’ve got 2 feet of water in your kitchen, those numbers aren’t very promising

as of this morning, here is where the river water stands:

-- Newville: 14.97 feet after cresting at 15.12 feet. Flood stage is 10 feet.

-- Indianford: 18.21 feet after cresting at 18.33 feet. Flood stage is 15 feet.

-- Afton: 13.42 feet after cresting at 13.51 feet. Flood stage is 9 feet.

so while the national news continues to focus on the mississippi river and iowa and missouri, remember those other town in the midwest that have not fared well.

of course, the biggest impact beyond the millions of dollars with of damage that will hit these towns is the millions it will cost everyone else once the full impact on the corn crop comes into focus. remember all the corn now used for ethanol gas...? and gas prices already remain around $4 a gallon.

and don't look for any great price cuts on fresh corn this summer. what shall everyone do this Independence day?

not to mention the feed for animals which will increase in cost which will increase the cost of eating the dead animals everyone seems to insist on eating day after day.

so what i'm trying to say is, it's a mess people. and while i'm almost certain the bush administration had something to do with this whole flooding mess (i mean, they've fucked up everything else, right? surely they're involved) - i can't prove it quite yet... but this will not help an already flagging economy and a war overseas that continues to increase our national deficit.

2009 can't get here fast enough....

obama '08.

e.

p.s. parents are still fine... my dad could even golf the other night. go fig.

Janesville Update

just some updates on the flooding in janesville. they're estimating at least $25 million in damages. and while they've dropped the estimated level at which the rock river will crest, it's still spilling over.

the above picture is looking over what was a walkway and the downtown dam in the background. the walkway is actually lower than where you see the carp flopping about at the bottom of the picture.

remember the picture of the library? the water is making its way there, too.


and just some other photos that show how the flooding is affecting downtown janesville.


so far...my parents remain okay.

e.

Sandbaggin' the Midwest

i realize much of the coverage of the midwest flooding has focused on iowa and indiana lately... but wisconsin has not been doing well either.

the above picture is a very familiar sight to me... it's a bridge that runs over the rock river in downtown janesville, wisconsin.

that's right: where my parents live.

if you notice the steps on the far side of the bridge... there's a walkway along the river (currently covered with water) that i love to stroll along. off to the left is a beautiful dam that's usually the only hard-running water.

the river is expected to crest in janesville tomorrow and stay out of its banks until friday.

i'm not worried about my parents... they live a good distance from the river. but it's a beautiful, picturesque town that i'd hate to see destroyed.

residents are sandbagging to protect the library pictured below... but some of these buildings will be flooded. (my parents' neighbor has water in his basement, by the way. glad my parent's basement was tiled well.)


it's crazy, man.

first GM and now the flood... the midwest is having a hard time of it!

e.

Meanwhile...In the Midwest

between obama clinching the nomination and making history... hillary not conceding then conceding... and mccain proving over and over again how lackluster a candidate he is... a major news story has slipped through the cracks.

GM will close four north american auto plants...those specializing in SUVs and large trucks...over the next two years.

i can't tell you how thrilled i am that the automotive industry has finally realized the destructive impact these vehicles have been making on the environment...now, of course, that people are no longer buying them with gas prices hovering around $4.00 a gallon.

but this does affect me in an odd way....beyond the joy that comes along with the death of the SUV.

my parents live in one of the towns. janesville, wisconsin is home to a very large GM plant and it will close next year or in 2010.

the janesville assembly is the oldest factory still in use by GM...(for now.) it was built in 1919 and employed 7,000 workers in it's heyday. now it employs around 4,000.

4,000 may not seem like a lot for a town nearing 60,000...but it's a big part of janesville.

two months ago my parents put their house on an already slumping market in hopes of moving back down south to be closer to their children and the birth of their first grandchild... name yet to be determined but arriving mid-july in baton rouge, louisiana.

i'm not sure how much luck my parents will have selling their house now with the largest employer in janesville closing its doors. maybe another car manufacturer will move in? maybe they can build something else in the factory?

or maybe janesville will suffer the same fate as so many industrial midwest towns? destined to become a ghost town... it's too bad, really... janesville is a lovely burg just north of the illinois boarder... "the city of parks" and there are a lot of them. downtown still looks like something out of rockwell painting. and a river runs through it...

funny how something that seems so far away...something that would normally be a top story in any less-politicized environment... can surprisingly affect your life and the life of your loved ones.

keep your fingers crossed for my parents.

e.