The Worthington Times

We added more pictures into the Great Flood of 2008 gallery over the weekend and will add more in the coming days. Still to come: pictures from each day, the Blackhawk landing at the school, the Pamida truck arrival with emergency supplies, the clinics for tetanus shots, the Governor landing for a walk around town and some people pictures.

Since the Great Flood of 2008, several visitors on the Times site have sent a note saying how they are enjoying the pictures. Many have been from Worthington but many more have been from the rest of the world and want to see what's going on in their hometown.  So today a new module has been added called an Old-Fashioned Guestbook - I hope you'll all leave a note!

Thought you out-of-towners might want to see what the mighty, mighty Eel River can do... 

This is a quickie post - just got home from work and I'm trying to make it to another meeting. But I know a lot of people from out of town are checking this site as well as the GCDW and I have some interesting pics that aren't up anywhere yet. Time only permits me to post just three right now in a part of the Great Flood of 2008 Gallery called The Mighty Eel. I'll post the rest later tonight.

Highway 67 opened yesterday. This morning was the first time I'd driven down it and got a chance to see the railroad track. A lot of people are talking about this - it's quite a sight. It makes you just say a big "wow." The track is literally destroyed. It's hard to imagine. We've never seen anything like it. The three pics that I got uploaded are of small spots - there are numerous spots like this all the way to the flasher light and many are much larger than these. 

The Greene County Health Department will return to Worthington to offer another round of free tetanus shots to anyone who has come into contact with the floodwaters and has not had their tetanus protection updated recently. The shots will be given Wednesday evening, June 11, from 5-8 p.m.

The water is going down. By noon Tuesday, all are in agreement that the floodwater is receding. It's down by a significant amount but there's a long ways to go. At least we can see it is getting better. What a mess it's leaving behind.

No roads have opened up yet. State Road 67 to the south is still covered with water as far as the eye can see and the barricade remains just south of the Dollar General Store. State Road 157 to the north is still closed but the fence posts which were barely visible yesterday are showing about a foot now. Water has gone down on State Road 157 - the hill road by the Pryor bridge but it has a long way to go - it now looks like a big flood instead of an unbelievable flood. Terre Haute Road to the west is still closed. Still today the only road open out of town is State Road 67 toward Spencer. 

The Worthington Town Council will meet tonight (Tuesday) as planned for their regularly scheduled monthly meeting in the Town Hall of the Municipal Building. The Utility Department portion of the meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. and the Council part starts at 7 p.m. The Great Flood of 2008 is sure to be at the top of the agenda. Both meetings are open to the public. 

Thanks to you all who've said they enjoyed the pictures. Kermit and I are taking tons of them but I haven't had time to post them all. I'm working another job and haven't been able to get it all done. If anyone else would like to add their pictures, they can be uploaded into the drop box. When this is over, I'm hoping to have a big gallery full of pics of the Great Flood of 2008.

Free tetanus shots will be available in the Town Hall of the Worthington Municipal Building starting at 1:30 p.m. today - Tuesday. Policemen and firefighters were attempting to spread the word through the streets late Tuesday morning. Deputy Marshal Don Richardson said anyone who has been in contact with the floodwater should be first in line. I don't know who is giving the shots or how long this will be going on. I just know it's happening.

VFW Post 7117 in Worthington honored those who have served and sacrificed for our nation in a Memorial Day Service at 12 noon under the flagpole on the front lawn of the Post. The program, open to the public, was held on Sunday, May 25, 2008.

VFW State Senior Vice-Commander Harley Andrews, who gave the featured address, said Memorial Day is a sacred day to all Veterans and that our freedoms were paid for by our Veterans.

"By honoring our nation's war dead, we honor their service and their personal sacrifice," said Andrews.  "More than one million Americans have died defending our nation."

Andrews also told the crowd the VFW across the country is doing well with 5000 posts in 50 states and the organization continues to welcome new members.

Worthington VFW Commander Jack Ray also spoke to the crowd and pointed to the sign in front of the Post which reminds daily passers-by that "Freedom Is Not Free."

Steve Followell, who will be the new Post Commander for 2008-09, read a letter from an older service member who is currently serving in Iraq on his third deployment.

A highlight of the service was the acapella singing of the Star Spangled Banner and America the Beautiful by Kim Richards.

The VFW Post then hosted an Open House during the afternoon and evening with plenty of good food, good friends and good fun. 

Pictured above: Worthington VFW Men's Auxilliary President Darin Stalcup served in the Color Guard then lowered the flag to half-mast during the playing of Taps to conclude the ceremony.

Pictured below: Future Post Commander Steve Followell, current Post Commander Jack Ray, and State Senior Vice-Commander Harley Andrews; members of the Post Color Guard; Andrews salutes while Kim Richards sings the National Anthem; the crowd near the VFW's "Freedom Is Not Free" sign; and the Post Rifle Squad waiting with the crowd for the program to begin.