News

June 17, 2009

County to hoist couple’s house

By Jennifer Learn-Andes jandes@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Reporter
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Allen and Helen Ruckle raised five children in their century-old, two-story home in Shickshinny, and they didn’t want to start over somewhere else.

But the fear of Susquehanna River flooding was always in the back of their minds because the first floor has been inundated several times since they bought the place in 1972, Helen said.

The solution: The Ruckle homestead will be jacked up several feet as part of a Luzerne County mitigation program targeting Susquehanna flood-prone properties that aren’t protected by the Wyoming Valley Levee.

“It’s an improvement. I don’t feel like moving. We have a lot of memories here,” Allen said.

Four other properties in their neighborhood will be elevated by the end of the summer, along with one in Nescopeck Township, county officials learned during Tuesday’s Flood Protection Authority meeting.

The county is also in the process of buying up to 14 homes in Shickshinny, with plans to demolish them by the end of the summer, said authority Director Jim Brozena.

The county has not yet released a list of the properties and purchase prices. The properties are on four streets -- North Susquehanna, Canal, East Union and McClintock. About $2.3 million has been budgeted for the Shickshinny project, which has been planned for several years.

Helen Kremski said she has agreed to sell the county her two-story, 1930s home on Susquehanna Avenue. The Conyngham Township resident inherited the house from her parents and rented it out.

“It’s an older home, and it had its day,” Kremski said. “You hate to let go, but you can’t be living in the past.”

Borough Mayor Beverly Moore said she’s relieved that five property owners chose to elevate because she was concerned about the loss of too many residences. She hopes those that opt for buyouts are satisfied.

“As long as the residents are happy, I’m happy for them,” Moore said.

The borough will assume ownership of the land beneath demolished properties, and Moore said she’d like to use some of the space for a park featuring chess tables, benches, horseshoe pits and other equipment geared for adults. The land can’t be developed, and Moore said it’s near a Canal Street revitalization project that will feature a boat launch facility.

Interest in elevating homes was sparked in the borough in 2006 when Walter Sims lifted his Canal Street home 9.5 feet. Several Plymouth Township property owners have also raised their homes since then.

Most of the house-raising projects are in the $40,000 to $50,000 price range, local government officials say. The National Flood Insurance Program typically kicks in up to $30,000, but property owners have to fund the difference.

The county will pay the difference for the five Shickshinny properties being raised this summer.

Helen Ruckle said she and her husband couldn’t afford the elevation on their own. She doesn’t look forward to climbing steps but said it’s a small sacrifice to stay put.

“I like Shickshinny. Everybody I know is here,” she said.

Though contractors say a glass of water wouldn’t spill during the elevating of her home, she plans to pack up all her breakables as a precaution.

Once this work wraps up, the authority will choose more properties to be razed/raised because several million dollars is left in the county’s mitigation funding pot, officials said. More than 300 properties are on a waiting list.

Authority Chairman Stephen A. Urban said the mitigation projects are as important as the levee-raising.

“I’m just happy that we’re getting people out of harm’s way,” he said.

Jennifer Learn-Andes, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7333.

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