HARTFORD, Ky. — Several major roads in Ohio County remain impassable, spreading Ohio County Sheriff’s Office thin.
Anyone hoping to pass through State Route 69 in Hartford on their way to Fordsville would need a boat. It was the same story for U.S. 62 between McHenry and Rockport.
The car floating in the middle of the road was evidence.
“I reckon this was a lady. She was from out of town. And she didn’t know the road, I guess, and she tried to go through it,” said Charles Jones of McHenry.
Thankfully, his house was dry. He said it was the worst flooding he’s seen since 1997.
“The last 40 years, it’s been like this once, when the backwater got up,” Jones said. “I feel for them, just like if it was me, I would be devastated, because it just happens. To me, that’s just life. You’ve got to deal with it.”
Ohio County Sheriff Adam Wright said it’s been a trying situation.
“When the roadways began to get flooded, people were attempting to get home, driving around some of our barricades. They were getting stuck. We were having to go out and retrieve these individuals from their cars,” Wright said.
When the rain stopped, the water remained.
“The communities of Dundee and Fordsville have been cut off because of State Route 69 North, where it’s impassable at this time,” Wright said.
The response time to those communities has doubled at least. The sheriff’s office has stationed deputies in particular areas to make the response quicker, but with only 11 deputies on staff in the state’s fifth largest county, they’re spread thin.
“Having to add these extra people has put a little bit of a strain, but I’d rather have the people there and not need them, then need them and not have them,” Wright said.
Thankfully, other agencies have stepped up to help.
“It was predicted by the Army Corps of Engineers that 231 North here was gonna be shut off. We don’t have a deputy that lives in that particular area. And so when that threat came, I reached out to the Kentucky State Police and the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office, who both agreed if this happens, don’t worry about it, we’ve got your people taken care of,” Wright said.
While they await the rest of the water to recede, Wright said the motto has been: “Improvise, adapt and overcome.”
Jones said he appreciated the effort.
“They’re doing their job. They’re trying to keep people out of it. They’re putting road closing signs. You know how some people are. They don’t pay no attention to signs,” he said.
Wright said he’s close friends with Daviess County Sheriff Brad Youngman. He said the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office is ready to help return the favor if needed.
