My Day in Breathitt County

This flag was recovered from the Breathitt County football facility following the flood.

Breathitt County was ravaged by recent flooding. The county lost eight souls, two are still missing. 97 homes were destroyed. 523 have major damage. I spent the day in the area and can’t come up with the words that accurately describe the destruction and hope in such a beautiful southeastern Kentucky community. So, I kept a diary of my day and took some pictures.

Here it goes.

— 11:00 a.m.: Arrived in Jackson. Downtown was active. Much more than I expected I walked around and found a fitting painting on a storefront that best describes the community. It reads, “These people are my family. These mountains are my home. Eastern Kentucky Strong.” This set the tone for the day. Breathitt Countians that I met amazingly portrayed resilience and strength in the face of tragedy.

— 11:45 a.m.: I’m hungry. Going to walk around Jackson to find a good spot for lunch. I go by the No-Diet rule when traveling and always try to sample local and unique food.

— 11:47 a.m.: Found my lunch location. White Flash #1 has been a Jackson staple since 1934. I’m in here, smells delicious.

— 12:02 p.m.: Asked the folks in the diner what I should order. One hundred percent said White Flash burgers. Heck yeah. They’re similar to White Castle but much better. Fries and a Diet Coke accompanied.
Delicious.

— 12:30 p.m.: Met with Breathitt County Attorney Brendon Miller. Found out he was an All-American football player at Union College and has two sons that play for the high school football team. Both play center oddly enough, Evan is a junior and Carson is a freshman. He also owns Bluegrass Sports Nation which is a source for game streams and other media content based in the mountains. Mr. Miller and I made phone calls to various governmental and civic entities to get an update on the status of the county. On the other end of the phone calls were some true heroes that have worked continually since the flooding started. I asked what caused the floods. Found out that 8-12 inches of rain fell in 48 hours which led to the catastrophic event. Brendon asked if I’d like to take a tour of the county. I obviously said yes. Even though I’d driven through the county a few weeks back. The damage was far worse than I imagined. I couldn’t get past the eight lost lives and two still missing. That’s so unbelievably sad and still haunts me as I type this post.

— 1:30 p.m.: We made the quick trip down the hill to the football stadium and high school. I can’t begin to describe the amount of work that has been put in just to be able to host tomorrow night’s game. The stadium, concession stand, locker room, weight room, and offices were underwater over three weeks
ago. I will have another post tomorrow that highlights before and after photos of the stadium.

— 1:55 p.m.: We ran into Breathitt County native Ralph Fugate. He was the 2021 official artist for the Kentucky Derby. Ralph was repairing hand-painted images of prior state championship rings on the side of the stadium. He hoped to be finished by tomorrow’s 7:30 p.m. kickoff. He looked tired. Most all the folks I met looked tired. I can see why.

— 2:15 p.m.: Mr. Miller and I started a tour of the county. What I saw was devastating.

— 2:45 p.m.: While riding on a rural road, we saw a wonderful ma named Darrell walking across the road. Darrell had worked on strip mines for decades before retiring. His slow and uncomfortable gait was noticeable and common in former miners. I rolled down my window and he walked up to the car. He began to tell stories that were extraordinary. Darrell’s granddaughter was rescued from the flood waters by a National Guard helicopter. While in the air, she told the pilot to check on her grandfather. Once taking her to safety, the soldiers returned to check on Darrell. Water didn’t reach his house. He was ok. That warmed my heart. He then went on to tell story after story about family members and friend’s homes that were washed away by the swift waters. Darrell is awesome. He’s what’s good about the mountains. Meeting him made my day. He reminded me of my grandfather.

— 3:30 p.m.: We viewed an area of the county that was damaged the most. Houses were swept off their foundation and moved several yards downstream. Vehicles were abandoned and overwhelmed with mud. Walking bridges were taken out. The rebuild is going to take a long time and a great deal of money.

— 4:00 p.m.: Mr. Miller dropped me off at my car. I sat for a good 30 minutes trying to process what I’d seen and how we can help.

— 4:30 p.m.: Departed Jackson for the day. I’ll be going back tomorrow.

What Does This All Mean?

I’m in Breathitt County for a high school football game. We’ll get into that tomorrow. Today was about the people and their fight to rebuild. I came away so incredibly saddened yet inspired and motivated. Folks like Darrell wouldn’t allow me to be gloomy. He spoke about miracles and faith while projecting a wholesome smile. I’ll never forget him.

I did find ways to help. Aspire Appalachia is one of many organizations that have been on the ground since the flooding started. They indicated that monetary donations are important. Same can be said about construction materials. They can be reached at (606) 568-0133. In addition to monetary contributions, boots on the ground is another way to assist. Volunteering time is difficult and the work is hard, but it is a necessary demand. There were other organizations helping as well. Samaritan’s Purse has been in the area for quite some time. I saw a Texas Baptist van and their folks were working to
clear debris. KSR has a way to donate as well.

Lives were lost, folks are missing. I can’t get past that today. Homes were also lost. Heartbreaking. There are other damages that also impact the region that fly under the radar. A family member of mine lost his chicken coup. That may not sound like a major concern, but that’s a source of food that is now gone.
Same can be said about gardens. I saw countless amounts of vegetable growing sites that were swamped by river mud and destroyed. Countless vehicles were washed away. River water had a great deal of gasoline dumped into streams. I’m also concerned about the mental health of my home area.
Generations were altered, and that’s tough to overcome. I could go on and on. We need to help.

I’m sorry I can’t put words together to describe the needs and situation in Breathitt County. I hope the pictures helped. Let’s stand together, Kentucky.

#606Strong