Family searching for answers after they lose almost everything in the flood

Bill Dove

By Anna Rochelle UNCERTAIN FUTURE: Eel River floodwater claimed the home of Bill and Sue Dove on the northern edge of Worthington last weekend. Now they think their homeowner's insurance is not going to cover their loss. On Wednesday, Bill returned to his house with a camcorder to document the damage. The Dove family is currently staying in a friend's 21-foot travel trailer and they don't know what their future holds.

To add to their misery, they don't think their insurance is going to cover the loss.

The Doves lived with their 16-year-old son in a neat brick ranch at the corner of Third Street and Jefferson (State Road 157) on the north side of Worthington. It's always been a noticeably well-kept home -- the last place on the right as one leaves town toward Jasonville.

They moved in about five years ago after living on the west side for a long time.

The house had never been flooded out-- until last weekend.

On Saturday night, Bill was outside watching the rising water before going inside and falling asleep in his chair around 11 p.m. He was awakened by a knock on the door in the middle of the night.

When he answered the door, there stood a very young man -- a stranger, who said, "Mister, I just wanted to tell you that you might want to move your truck."

The water had come up fast. Bill did move his truck. He also got his family up and they threw some clothes together, stacked household items on high shelves and by 6 a.m. on Sunday, they gave up their home to Eel River floodwater.

In a state of shock, Bill was wading through knee-high water as he evacuated his family.

When the water receded, Bill got another shock when he called his insurance agent Wednesday.

"Our property is not in a flood plain, so flood insurance was not required by our mortgage company. We've got homeowners insurance but I just found out it's not going to cover this. Why in the heck have I been paying insurance for all this time if it's not going to cover this?" said Dove.

When Dove returned to his house and opened the door, he found one big mess -- a brand new washer and dryer, their fridge, their couch, their beds, their television -- all fodder for a trash bin.

The soggy interior looked like it had once been kept neat as a pin but now there were muddy-looking shoes all over the place. The water had been over 12-inches deep inside and the family's shoes that had been left in the closets had been floating around here and there in floodwater.

Dove served as Worthington's Scoutmaster for many years and continues to assist with the local Boy Scout and Cub Scout troops.

"The Lyons Scouts have offered to come up and help us with the clean up but we've still got water standing in the yard," said Dove.

Until the place dries out some more, Dove admitted he could use some help but was concerned about exposing volunteers to the bacteria-laden floodwater.

"I don't expect someone to come in and rebuild my house for nothing. But I don't know what to do. I'm a construction worker by trade -- I work in maintenance at Crane. My wife works up at the grocery store. This is going to cost thousands of dollars to fix. We work steady but we don't have thousands of dollars in our pocket to rebuild this house. If the insurance doesn't pay, and FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) will give us a loan, I might take a loan. But we're already paying a mortgage. Can we pay for another loan? I'm afraid we may lose our home because of this -- I just don't know what the future holds," said Dove.

On Wednesday morning, Bill was walking around his home with a camcorder documenting the damage to include when he files an insurance claim.

"I'm still going to file. I've been told that everything needs to be documented and that I need to file a claim and it has to be rejected before FEMA will talk to me," said Dove.

From talking to his neighbors in the flooded area, Dove believes most all of them will be "in the same boat."

For now, the three Doves are staying in a 21-foot travel trailer that was sitting in a friend's back yard on the west end of town.

"I don't know what's going to happen, but somehow, I will survive," said Dove.