East Grand Forks residents begin heartbreaking cleanup job
By Melissa Matczak
Associated Press
EAST GRAND FORKS, Minn. – Standing in her kitchen, Betty Ayotte removed her wire-rimmed glasses to wipe the tears from her eyes and breathed a big sigh of relief.

Downstairs, a cooler floated in the three feet of brown floodwater that fills her basement. Foul-smelling plastic containers of macaroni and cheese and jugs of spoiled milk sit in her refrigerator. Furniture, records and clothing are piled in her living room.

It wasn’t a pretty sight. But she was happy to be home.

"The worst part was not knowing," she said Sunday after she and her husband returned to their two-story house for the first time in more than a week.

After fleeing from their homes, East Grand Forks residents were allowed to return to their houses on the northeast side of town Sunday afternoon. Evacuees spent a few hours assessing damage and gathering small items, such as clothing and pictures.

East Grand Forks is slowly putting itself back together after the Red River consumed the town more than a week ago. One of the four bridges connecting the city to Grand Forks, N.D., was scheduled to re-open today, and electricians were working to restore temporary power to some homes. More residents will be allowed to return to their homes this week.

But the town is far from normal. Across from Ayotte’s house, a pile of clay sits in the street. Military trucks zoom down roads. And many homes are still partly or fully submerged.

Clergy were available to enter homes with residents, and Mayor Lynn Stauss urged residents to help each other out as they return to their neighborhoods.

Just a few houses down from Ayotte’s house, Rodney Grantham used a flashlight to peer into his basement full of water. Upstairs, his wife, Kathy, was throwing every item in their refrigerator into large plastic garbage bags.

Grantham considers himself one of the lucky ones.

"It’s not like we got killed or anything," he said. "We just got a flood we didn’t expect. It’s going to be a mess to clean up, but it’s not insurmountable."