Stella’s Ark fights to stay afloat
By Michael Johnson, Editor
The humming of four dehumidifiers and the sight of bare floors and walls gets to be too much for Stella Mehlhoff to handle at times. Her escape used to be her deck that wraps around the back side of her home on Carvell Lane, south of Washburn. Now when she steps out, the quiet is drowned out by the flush of water from two sump pumps near her foundation. Looking down she sees her yard is completely filled with water and rising up a row of sandbags against her home. She knew another sump pump was needed. Luckily, she had six on hand. “It’s kind of sad,” Mehlhoff said. “But you can’t dwell on it.”
The water first started to back flow into her backyard several weeks ago. At that time Mehlhoff said she didn’t want it to be true. “I didn’t believe it,” she said. Stella first laughed as carp began swimming in through the canal and splashed in her backyard. Now, she laughs to keep back the tears as water fills in under her deck.
