Check in email - August 22, 2020

Dublin Core

Text Item Type Metadata

Text

Saturday, August 22nd, 2020
1:50 pm

Dear loved ones,

Hello from my house that has electricity! The fridge is on, laundry is going, and of course, fans are blasting. Our power returned around 10:35 Thursday night and yes, I cried a little. I was going to send an update email sooner but I’ve just been tuckered out!

Today is my first day off since the storm, and I’m back to it tomorrow. We’ve been keeping busy at work for sure! We are projected to get more storms today so most of the past few days have been emptying out our library because so much of the building has severe roof damage. My team is going to be housed at Lowe Park, my personal favorite park in Marion, for the next 14 months while the new library is built. The rest of the library staff will be split between working in city hall; at our small storefront; at a storage annex; and covering shifts at our mobile technology station at Thomas Park. We’ll probably start working from Lowe doing our “actual jobs” in about two weeks when storm cleanup is closer to being finished.

This past week has been all about FEMA funds and moving for me at work. I’m working on a job description for an additional resource to help patrons navigate all of the reimbursement and grant opportunities available through state and federal money, as well as creating a way for Public Works to track the cubic yards of yard waste their subcontractors have picked up. The subcontractors are based in South Carolina and specialize in hurricane recovery and have made such a huge dent in the work! I’ve also been helping schlep all of the library materials to our new storage warehouse as well as sort programming and staff supplies about what to keep, store, and mark as damaged .


My dream team at work. Don’t worry, we don’t have Shanel in the warehouse since she’s expecting!! I wouldn’t wish this mess on anyone but am so proud of our team for coming together and crushing it!



An authentic selfie from August 2020: dark circles, mask acne, and a mask tan line! This is from the day after our hot water was turned back on.

Things are good at home. We have all our brush and most of our fence cleaned up, and are waiting for the city to pick them up. The storm was so severe that the county is estimating brush pickup will take at least 16 weeks, so our front yard looks like we have a fort set up! As I mentioned, most of our neighborhood got power 11 days in, and the rest of Oak Hill Jackson got it yesterday.



Our backyard August 10




Our backyard August 13



Our backyard August 18. Will nothing kill our overgrown squash plants?!

Thank you for the emails, texts, and love I’ve received these past two weeks! Phone service is still spotty so thank you for your patience as I respond. Some folks have offered help, and I have three ideas of how to make an impact:

Ways you can help:
1.) Pray. The entire state has a long, long road to recovery. The damage stretches beyond Iowa; the storm hit multiple states to a lesser extent, plus knocked out 46% of all corn and soybean crops. Pray for more resources, continued patience and comradery.




Our friend Olivia’s in law’s farm in Mount Vernon, IA, which is about 15 minutes from Cedar Rapids.

2.) Signal boost what is happening in Eastern Iowa. Even though I am lucky enough to have a house with electricity, there are still thousands in my city alone who aren’t in the same boat. People are living in tents in parking lots who had a safe apartment two weeks ago. There has been some national coverage since I last wrote but so many still don’t know the extent of the devastation.



I mentioned I went out with building inspectors... this was an auto body shop two weeks ago. Thank God the employee could wait out the storm in the bathroom since it’s all that’s left!!

3.) If you are able, feel free to give in the following ways:
A.) Help my coworker Dawn.
Some of you might have met her at my wedding — she is the one who made our cakes! Dawn has lived in the same house for almost 30 years, and raised her 3 kids there. The kids are grown and gone, but her house is busier than ever: they had 5 trees go through the roof. She and her husband of course have insurance and luckily have a safe place to live, but most of their possessions have water damage and/or are inaccessible. If you have a Target or Wal-Mart gift card to send, or even an encouraging note or drawing from your kids, this is where I would ask it gets sent! She is selfless and has been working just as many 14 hour days as me, but with all this weighing on her! She can still receive mail at her house, luckily — here is the address if you have any love or other resources to share:
Dawn and Jack Cline
[REDACTED]
Marion, IA 52302





Their house Monday this week. They finally got an out of state contractor- it’s so hard to find help! I’ve seen trucks with license plates from 7 states and 2 provinces.

B.) If you would like to help area nonprofits making a big difference, I would suggest HACAP or the Marion Chamber.



Cleanup at the park across from the library is going so well but it still looks rough. I took this picture Thursday.


Another Thursday shot. This is Roots in Bloom in Marion, of the pine tree I liked to take my lunch break under.

Tomorrow I’m going to likely be back on volunteer hotlines and assisting with FEMA navigation for patrons.

I hope you all are also enjoying a restful day.

Love you!
Madeline

Files

Check In Email - August 22, 2020.pdf

Citation

“Check in email - August 22, 2020,” Marion Derecho Digital Archive, accessed May 8, 2024, https://derecho2020.omeka.net/items/show/70.

Output Formats