KTEA

10/26/2024

10/22/2024

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03/08/2023

HB444 This may still change. We have been meeting with legislators and will continue to advocate for employees but we want to share this update.

10/25/2022

Gary Watkins is a Highway Technician that lives in Jackson, KY. Until now Gary and his wife Teresa were still trying to get assistance from FEMA. Unfortunately, they were unable to get assistance despite all their appeals. Gary and his family have been on a rollercoaster since the floods. The night the flooding happened Gary was working with the highway department clearing roadways and closing roads. He was calling his wife Teresa about evacuating. She stayed until nine and went to their son’s house. Gary continued to work until midnight and then had to evacuate his son’s family from their house. Once Gary’s family was safe in Wi******er, he went back to work. Gary said by the next morning everything was under water. The Watkin’s family was proud of their home and had insurance on their home, but it did not cover much. The water was five to six foot high in the house and they lost most of their belongings. They just recently were able to get an apartment but are still struggling to get furnishings and replace what they have lost. Please consider donating to Gary’s family Paypal: [email protected] and Venmo Teresa Watkins .

08/15/2022

Daniel Hunter is a Highway Technician from Knot County whose family was impacted by the flooding. Daniel said they had gone to bed that evening not expecting much because the weather reports had said they would see the worst weather the next night. At around 4:45 a.m. a weather alarm sounded on his wife’s phone and woke them. She told him it read “Deadly Flash Flooding” and he quickly got up. His family was always cautious with flash flood warnings. They had never been flooded but had parts of the property that would puddle with water. They always moved their vehicles and took the children to a relative’s home until the warning passed or they felt safe the next morning.

That morning Daniel’s wife went to wake the children while he moved the vehicles. They went to his brother-in-law’s home. Water had never been that high so they thought they were all safe, but the water quickly started to rise further. Daniel, his wife, and his brother-in-law moved vehicles again and helped a neighbor. Now they had to evacuate both families from this home and the water was climbing fast. A neighbor who worked with fire and rescue jumped in and the family made a human chain to get all the children to safety. Once safely higher up, Daniel said they watched their home float away. “It was a nightmare. It still is today” Daniel said “the whole experience was terrible. You just can’t imagine”
Since the flood, they have been so grateful for clothing and water donations. They appreciate anything and are trying to find out what to do next. Daniel has returned to work and is working long hours to try to help with the cleanup. If you would like to help Daniel, you can directly send money via PayPal [email protected] or Venmo@sarabethhunter

08/09/2022

Patrick Patterson was training in Elizabethtown and parked his truck at the Letcher County barn. He considers himself lucky, but he is also in the process of putting everything back together. He also lost a personal his truck at the Letcher Co. barn. Driving back home from training, he saw his whole town was devastated. He had been calling and texting home, but nothing prepared him for what he would see. His garage filled with water and mud, and he is still looking for tools. The bank behind his home has slid into the back of it. Despite it all, Patrick has continued to show up to work every day. He is a technician keeping equipment running at District 12 Garage. If you would like to help Patrick and his family their PayPal is

08/07/2022

The night that the flash floods hit in Letcher County, Larry Easterling, James Ison, Lonnie Lewis, and (Eric) Brian Fields were all called into remove trees from the roadway. They left their vehicles at the Letcher County barn and started out with their chainsaws. They didn’t make it very far before they started to cut their way through the road. They noticed as they got to higher ground that the water was rising behind them. Larry told the other guys they had to get to higher ground. Trees kept falling and they kept cutting their way up the road. A limb hit the windshield, but they kept going. Once they were almost to the garage, they noticed that the water was covering both lanes going into the lot. They knew it was too high to cross. They sat there helpless to do anything. They watched in horror as three cars tried to cross from the opposite side of the highway and were swept under the water. All three of their trucks were flooded on the state lot. When Larry finally made it home his other vehicle and home were under water. Larry’s home was filled with water and his outbuildings are now gone. He lived next to his nephew Matt Maggard and they are both trying to put things back together. You can donate to Larry Easterling via Matt’s PayPal at [email protected]. Lonnie Lewis can be donated to at PayPal address [email protected] . Brian Fields PayPal is [email protected] . James Ison also has a PayPal account at [email protected] . Most of these guys have borrowed vehicles to continue to work everyday to help their neighbors.

08/07/2022

Daniel Caudill was not home the night of the floods. When he got the alert, the road was not accessible, but he was able to get to his parent’s house (where he lived) on his side by side. By the time he got there, water was already to the porch. His dad was outside, but his mom was refusing to leave. He went inside and she was stacking belonging on the bed. Daniel picked her up and carried her through the flood water. Along the way, the water knocked his feet out from under him and he was washed away with his mother in his arms. Luckily, they struck a light pole, and he was able to regain his footing. His family lost everything that wasn’t on his mother’s bed. It floated to the top and set back down after the water receded. The property was so badly damaged that they will not even be able to build back on the property.

Once he got his parents to safety, Daniel went to check on his daughter and ex-wife. After he got there and found that they were okay, the only way he could get back out the help others was to take a kayak from that house back to his side by side. There was no cell service to call anyone, and he just continued to try to help people out. He operated an excavator to move stuff out of the way to make room for people to get out. He wrecked his side by side when he hit a wash out going to check on others. Luckily a friend helped him piece it back together enough to get to a safe place. He is at a loss with what to do next. He said “I never imagined I would see an air boat go through our backyard but that happened”.

Daniel said the only normal thing he knows to do is to continue to go to work. Like his coworkers he has been doing 15-16 hour shifts trying to repair the roads. His nine-year-old daughter has been volunteering, giving out food and water. They both are doing all they can to help others. If you would like to donate to help Daniel you can send money to his Venmo or you can donate to the districts Venmo.

08/05/2022

Clay Little was out of town the day the flood happened but was stunned by what had happened when he got back home. The water was right next to his home. His garage was flooded, and mud is everywhere. His side by sides were also under water. They are now trying to find tools, clean up, and get the side by sides running again. Clay said that he “considers himself fortunate compared to what a lot of others have lost”. If you would like to donate directly to Clay his PayPal is [email protected] or you can donate to the district Venmo account.

08/05/2022

Josh Johnson’s home has been in his family for a long time. His grandparents built it in 1967 and the water has never been in it. He feels like they were very lucky that water didn’t get inside the home this time because when the water stopped rising, it was only two inches from the front door. Josh has his washer and dryer in a building outside of the home and that building was under water. His outbuildings, garage, and some vehicles were also in the flood waters. Josh says he was really lucky, but he has a lot of work to get everything back to how it was before the flood. If you would like to donate to Josh and his family, his PayPal is [email protected] or you can donate to the district Venmo account.

08/05/2022

Phillip Caudill was called into removed trees from the roads the night the flood happened. They had been cutting trees when reports said that water was rising in his area. He headed home and had to remove a few more trees to get there. At 4:00 in the morning he reached home and started moving stuff to his truck and headed to help his mom put stuff up on beds. He recently lost his father and knew his mother would need help. In thirty minutes time, the water was ankle deep and he gathered up his wife and three children and drove to higher ground. It was then that he noticed his neighbor was not aware of what was happening. He woke them up and started to help him move stuff out. By the time he headed back to his vehicle, he was chest deep in water. He returned to his family and watched his home fill up with water. Phillip is a fire fighter and a Shriner. He has always been the one to help people and says it is unreal to be on this side of the event. He is staying at Jenny Wiley State Park but due to flooding they are having to get transported from the park to their vehicles by boat. When I spoke to him the lodge didn’t have hot water, but he is grateful to have a place to rest and clean up. Since the flood Phillip was able to use his drone to get rescuers to a family on a roof and continues to try to help others. If you would like to donate to Phillip’s family their Venmo is Brittany-Caudill-5 or you can donate to the district Venmo.

08/05/2022

The night of the flood, Matt Maggard and his wife were asleep at home when the alert went off on their phone. He said that the power was off, and the house was quiet, but he could hear water lapping outside like he was at the beach. He has lived there for most of his life and water has never been close to the house. He decided to take the dog out to see what was happening. When he walked outside the water was six feet from his house and he could hear debris hitting the railroad bridge in the distance. He ran inside and told his wife to get the kids and then ran to his mom’s house two doors down. He woke her up and ran back to his family. He grabbed his four kids, dogs, and wife and drove them to higher ground. It was so dark that it was hard to see where the water was. They drove up to the highway and put up a canopy that was in the back of the truck. That was where the family sheltered watching their belongings float away until the sun came out. His home and his mother’s home were both flooded. The home is a loss, all their clothes are ruined, and most of their pictures are gone. Matt says they are blessed to be able to stay with relatives and so grateful to have his family. He feels lucky to still have his loved ones. He is thankful that complete strangers are willing to help him, his family, and community. If you would like to donate to Matt and his family, you can send money to his PayPal account [email protected] or you can donate to the district Venmo.