Salina Residents Wonder If The Levee Will Hold

If this were a levee down on Grand Lake where all the rich people are, it would have already happened.

NO, it is not safe and the GRDA knows it and so do many of the people in the town. So just get ready, because the lake will take over the town!

"Baja Grand" (Hudson) will never have the protection that Grand would get. Hire those engineers or use stimulus money to get this certification done. GRDA is state owned and the state has stabilization money. USE IT WHERE IT IS NEEDED>>>>>

Dont proofread much do ya, KOTV?

"Salina residents fear that delays in getting a leThe Grand River Dam Authority is looking for an engineering firm to certify the levee at an affordable cost.vee inspection could cost them."

The Levee won't breach as if it would have, it would have done it in the past when the lake was at 110% full in the past 30 years or so. However - I agree with the others - if the old rich white people owned and lived in that community that levee would have been inspected years ago and again when this question came up - People! the GRDA is a state entity that is subject to the public records laws - all some one needs to do is start looking at their books and I guarantee you they will find the money to inspect those levees quick as they do not want the public to know about how they spend the money in their slush fund from the profits of selling power to the towns in the region.... start with the director salary and what he actually does...

GRDA does not have the money because they have spent it on more worthy projects. Look at the helicopters they bought and that luxury building that they just leased in OKC. They needed these to impress their visitors and to "****" with the residents of the lake areas.

Well if it breaks it won't cause much damage to the town, Then they'll get a new one

Scott PB Free wrote:

Well if it breaks it won't cause much damage to the town, Then they'll get a new one

Easy for you to say, do you own property here? I have a business in town less than two blocks from this levee. We are all looking at our property values circling the drain if GRDA doesn't get off their tails and do something. They have the money, they just don't want to spend it on anything besides their helicopters, buildings, and of course anything the people up on Grand want.

Scott PB Free wrote:

Well if it breaks it won't cause much damage to the town, Then they'll get a new one

I swear, Scott! Sometimes you say the most hateful things.

Good job Michelle on conveying the problem at Salina. Come on GRDA Do what you are supposed to do and spare the people the flood insurance premiums.....

JFR Fan wrote:

<quoted text>
Easy for you to say, do you own property here? I have a business in town less than two blocks from this levee. We are all looking at our property values circling the drain if GRDA doesn't get off their tails and do something. They have the money, they just don't want to spend it on anything besides their helicopters, buildings, and of course anything the people up on Grand want.

Some of those buildings are historical and very beautiful - I sure would hate to see Salina destroyed!!! I can imagine some of the folks might have trouble escaping, especially if it broke at night! One death from this is unacceptable!!!
GRDA is nuts if they don't do what it takes to make certain the town can survive with levee certification. Without it those small businesses will likely go under financially speaking because of the outrageous cost of flood insurance!!! I believe GRDA is CROOKED!

noodles wrote:

<quoted text>
Some of those buildings are historical and very beautiful - I sure would hate to see Salina destroyed!!! I can imagine some of the folks might have trouble escaping, especially if it broke at night! One death from this is unacceptable!!!
GRDA is nuts if they don't do what it takes to make certain the town can survive with levee certification. Without it those small businesses will likely go under financially speaking because of the outrageous cost of flood insurance!!! I believe GRDA is CROOKED!

You are right, and there are people whose houses are in the shadow of that levee. As Kenwood NDN mentioned, the lake has been at 110% capacity and the levee held, but it leaked like a sieve and GRDA had workers on a 24/7 watch while at the same time telling everyone there was nothing to worry about. Yeah, right. Right now the issue is that even if the levee will hold, people are going to be required to buy flood insurance if they have a federally backed mortgage. I was given an idea yesterday of what flood insurance will be costing those of us with loans on our property and I about fainted. People cannot afford this insurnace when you are living in what FEMA is calling "a special flood hazard area". The problem is you can't afford it, but if you have a federally backed loan you are required to have it, not to mention the fact that our property values will be zilch. It's a catch 22. You can't afford the insurance, and if you don't have it the banks can demand immediate repayment of the loans. If people can't afford the insurance they can't cough up the entire amount of their loan either. It will boil down to people handing the banks their now worthless homes and businesses and walking away. Everything we have all worked for will be for nothing, and the banks will be stuck with collateral with little value. No one will want to buy it when they see what the insurance will cost them and that the values are nothing. All this so GRDA can save money. I guarantee if this were happening at Grand Lake it would have been handled 18 mos. ago when FEMA first notified GRDA.

I have a copy of a letter from FEMA to Mr. Anthony Due, Assistant General Manager, GRDA. If you are going to be affected by this situation I urge you to write to this man and demand something be done. He needs to be flooded with complaints. His mailing address is: c/o GRDA, P.O. Box 409, Vinita, OK 74301.

Hippichick wrote:

<quoted text>
I swear, Scott! Sometimes you say the most hateful things.

No you all took it all the wrong way, I know where the levee is located.
At wrost it will flood some lower streets until the water subsides.
I meant nothing hateful about it

Scott PB Free wrote:

<quoted text>No you all took it all the wrong way, I know where the levee is located.
At wrost it will flood some lower streets until the water subsides.
I meant nothing hateful about it

No, the worst won't be water flooding some lower streets until the water subsides. There are houses and businesses that would receive property damage as the water goes through. Sure, the water will subside, but the damage will already be done. The main issue right now is not the levee failing, it is the fact that GRDA's failure to have the levee re-certified has made Salina a "special flood hazard area" according to a letter to GRDA from FEMA. This will result in people being required to pay thousands of $$ a year for insurance and our property becoming virtually worthless. This is a small town and people around here have been hit hard by the economy. Many are out of work and can barely get by now. Those of us with businesses in town have been hurt by the economy as well and some of us are barely breaking even. Add thousands in flood insurance costs and we're doomed.

We MUST save Salina! If anything happens to this town, who will the people in Locust Grove have to make fun of?

Teasly McBagger wrote:

We MUST save Salina! If anything happens to this town, who will the people in Locust Grove have to make fun of?

That's funny, everyone in Salina makes fun of Locust Grove!

Kenwood says bad things about all you cuzins

Locust Grove should not cast stones with all the water woes they have had...... WE had no water for 3 days 3 weeks ago.....

I've lived in OK all my life and I still read stories about towns I've never heard of. I thought Salina was in Kansas.

Ryan wrote:

I've lived in OK all my life and I still read stories about towns I've never heard of. I thought Salina was in Kansas.

So does everyone else! Actually Salina is the first permanent white settlement in Oklahoma. It was settled by Jean Pierre Chouteau, but I can't remember the year. Yesterday was Chouteau Day in Salina, which is basically a founders day. Salina is on Lake Hudson, in Mayes County. We are 10 miles east of Pryor on Hwy. 20. If you don't know where Pryor is, it's about 20 east of Claremore on Hwy. 20.