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While awaiting state aid, residents of Herkimer and Montgomery Counties recovering from June flood damage have been deluged with kindness from strangers.

The village of Mohawk has seen volunteers from Southern Baptist Disaster Relief and the Salvation Army tackling property assessment and cleanup, according to Sister Mary Jo Tallman, CSJ, parish life director at Blessed Sacrament parish there. A group of Buddhist monks from Boston visited to distribute $300 debit cards to the hardest-hit individuals.

Sister Mary Jo said homeowners have spent thousands of dollars of their own money while "trying to jump through hoops" to collect on flood insurance claims and obtain help from state government.

"Things are almost normal for some people, but not for others," she said.

She suspects parish offertory collections will drop come fall: "If they've got to buy a new furnace, they've got to take the money from somewhere."

Little progress
Rev. Dennis Murphy, pastor of Our Lady of Hope parish in Fort Plain, is still attending weekly meetings of the Fulton-Montgomery Long Term Recovery group. He's learned there's been no movement on razing more than 15 condemned houses in the Mohawk Valley, and that other properties are becoming worrisome.

"We're worried about people who have not received any funding to restore their heating systems," Father Murphy said. "Our volunteer group can't supply that [money]."

Since businesses have not been promised aid from New York State, it's unclear to the recovery group what's happening inside apartment buildings. They may look better from the outside, the pastor said, but "the issues now are inside the houses.

"It's quite complicated - a lot of bureaucracy," Father Murphy continued. "Mostly things are being done [by] homeowners themselves with their own money or [by] volunteers."

Our Lady of Hope's basement has been cleared of mold, and its faith formation classrooms are being repaired. About a dozen parishioners were affected by the flooding; one left Fort Plain, while another relocated within the village.

Help and hope
"In a sense, [people who leave the area] don't need any help," Father Murphy remarked. "But in another sense, who knows what help they need?"

It remains to be seen how many residents will abandon their homes, but Father Murphy fears remaining residents will shoulder a higher tax burden, which will start a cycle of departures.

The pastor said other Catholic parishes haven't sent out organized teams of volunteers, but he has received donations from Holy Trinity parish in Johnstown, Holy Spirit in Gloversville, Our Lady of the Assumption in Latham and St. Mary's in Coxsackie, among others. Little Sisters of the Poor from Our Lady of Hope Residence in Latham also hand-delivered $500 to Our Lady of Hope parish.

The Catholic Daughters of America council that meets in Fort Plain has held fundraisers and collected donations, and Knights of Columbus from Broadalbin are hosting a fundraiser this month. A community cleanup day publicized in the bulletin of St. Michael the Archangel parish in Troy was held at the end of August.

Father Murphy said the biggest needs now are skilled workers and "prayerful support." Our Lady of Hope will hold its previously scheduled parish picnic Sept. 8.

Insurer's report
Catholic Mutual Group, which processes the Albany Diocese's self-insurance on church, school and Catholic Charities properties, sent a restoration company to parishes in Frankfort, Ilion, Fort Plain and Herkimer, and to a Catholic Charities office in Ilion. Assistant claims risk manager Kathy Williams said mold has been removed from the parish hall at Our Lady Queen of Apostles in Frankfort, and other basement properties that sustained minor damage are now functional.

St. Francis de Sales parish, school and rectory in Herkimer received the most structural damage. Days before the school's Sept. 4 start date, finishing touches were being put on the library, which was relocated from the basement to the first floor after books and computers were ruined.

Volunteers were installing new computers, putting up shelves, stocking donated books, painting and carpeting the new room; a parishioner was making curtains. The former library will become a teacher's lounge.

The school gym was set to open a week later than the rest of the school after it was decided that the "buckling" and "bubbling" floor had to be replaced. The adjacent hallway and bathrooms were being repaired.

Repairs to parish offices not associated with the school will begin once school property is functional: "It will probably be a couple of months before everything is restored," Mrs. Williams said. "It's all coming along."

Mrs. Williams remarked on the cooperation of parishioners, college students and teenagers who helped with cleanup and restoration projects in Herkimer. She lauded Rev. Mark Cunningham, pastor of St. Francis, for delegating tasks and meeting with diocesan and insurance officials, contractors, engineers, electricians and plumbers.[[In-content Ad]]

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