By RODNEY HART
Herald-Whig Staff Writer
LAGRANGE, Mo. -- Elvin Wollbrink and his two grandsons shoveled scoop after scoop of soggy and ruined drywall Wednesday morning from the house at 212 Main.
Mississippi River floodwaters rose more than four feet in the house on the east side of Main in the heart of LaGrange's riverfront neighborhood. There's still a spectacular view of the flooded park from the backyard, but at least now you can see the town sign poking above the water.
Inside the house and the one next to it, both owned by Wollbrink, there's nothing but ruined hardwood floors and the damp earthy smell of mold.
"I should have gotten insurance," a glum Wollbrink said. "I gambled and I lost."
Like Wollbrink, many in LaGrange have spent this week assessing flood damage. Wollbrink has owned the two rental houses for 10 years and estimates it will cost about $15,000 to fix just one.
"It needs to dry out before I decide what to do with it," Wollbrink said. "With all the debris it's hard to clean, and there's so much mud and silt."
Wollbrink estimates the water is going down by about 18 inches a day -- "a lot faster than it did in 1993." He doesn't think he'll get any help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"They say with two houses, I'm a business," Wollbrink said.
Wollbrink's grandsons live across the river near the flooded Adams County, Ill., town of Meyer. One of Wollbrink's sons lost 600 acres of farmland when the levee broke two weeks ago. Another son built the family home into a berm 14 feet high and the house was spared from floodwater, but the only way to get to the home is by a 3-mile boat ride.
Wollbrink's grandson, Carl, said they've been told it could be Labor Day weekend before they can get back to Meyer, but there's hope as the river continues to drop they can get back sooner.
Just down the street, Penny White had an insurance adjuster going through her Grandma's Cupboard Restaurant. More than three feet of water settled into the business when the back sandbag wall simply caved in two weeks ago.
The floor was still drying Wednesday morning. White did not know if the restaurant will reopen.
"People have been so good to us, coming in, asking if they can help," said White, who has owned the business with her husband, John, for five years. "I've been here seven days a week for five years and it was just starting to really pick up."
White officially vacated the restaurant at 4 a.m. June 16. She managed to get much of her inventory out, but she's given away many dairy products because the distributor won't take them back and they will spoil unless used.
"God is in control. That's all I really know," she said.
Town & amp; Country Bank President Ken Schuetz waded through water past his knees when he shut the bank down two weeks ago. The building remains closed, and Schuetz was still deciding whether to remain or find a new permanent location.
"The mold in there is something else. You just can't believe how bad it is in there," he said.
The water was still lapping up against the edge of the main road entering town, and there was still lots of standing water on the west side of the road. In some areas, the water crept all the way up to the foundations of buildings on the west side.
Terrible's Mark Twain Casino reopened Tuesday morning. The south parking lots are still flooded, but there's plenty of parking behind the building. Vehicles can only enter and exit from the north.
The LaGrange post office moved from 202 Main more than two weeks ago to the old City Hall building on Washington.
An employee said an insurance adjuster was expected to come soon to look at the flooded building, and the mail continues to be delivered.
-- rhart@whig.com/221-3370
