Local store owners plan to reopen after flood damage, others aren’t sure

By By Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
After battling the aftermath of a flash flood that left up to four feet of dirty water and mud in their buildings last week, most Hartselle merchants are getting back to business as usual this week.
Cahoots Restaurant —one of the hardest hit of the approximately 23 businesses adversely affected by flooding—was putting the finishing touches to a major cleanup on Tuesday with plans to reopen no later than Thursday.
The unique two-story eating-place was flooded by up to four feet of water last Tuesday night, leaving furnishings in disarray and a thick coat of mud on its hardwood floors.
Bob and Lynn Schofield reopened their antique business after spending a couple of days cleaning up four inches of water and mud from the floor of their historic building. A wooden floor that covers part of the building was damaged and will have to be replaced. Some antique items that were displayed on the floor were water-soaked and had to be thrown out.
The outlook for 36 &Main and its owners, Carey and Judy Green, remained in doubt. Their up-scale women’s boutique was inundated with up to two feet of water and mud and its contents had to be removed to make way for a cleanup.
Businesses located on one block of Main and one block of South Sparkman streets were subjected to rising water when an underground drainage ditch overflowed. The condition was worsened when storm drains through the central business stopped up with leaves and trash, according to businessman Fred Smith who owns three of the buildings that sustained water damage.
Not all of the high water damage occurred in the central business district, however. Some of the businesses located on either side of Highway 31, north of the Highway 36 intersection were flooded when drainage ditches t in the area failed.