PINE BLUFF -- Residents of Island Harbor Estates continued to move their possessions to higher ground Friday as water from the Arkansas River slowly inundated the Jefferson County neighborhood.
Resident Larry Rabeneck doesn't plan to go anywhere and said he will rebuild once the water recedes.
Rabeneck made preparations for the flood based on predictions of a 49-foot crest in Pine Bluff, which turned out to be inadequate.
"I made stands to put the appliances, the TV and that stuff on," Rabeneck said. "I made all that, and we got everything on blocks and stands to be above the 49-foot level. Then, the day after that, they jumped it to 51. So everything we've got is going to go under.
"It's too late to move everything, and the water's too deep to try and get it out anyway."
He also doesn't have insurance to cover the flood damage.
"It's going to be a mess, but we'll get it cleaned up and we'll go again," he said.
Rabeneck isn't alone. He said there are 67 houses in his neighborhood, and all but four have either taken on water or will take on water before the river crests.
"And it may get in those four before it's over with," he said.
Rabeneck retired from farming in DeWitt several years ago, and he and his wife moved to Island Harbor Estates a little over three years ago.
"It was in 2016, January 2016," he said with a laugh, recalling that floodwaters were receding from the neighborhood at the time. "I was moving stuff in, and the people were moving their stuff out. I guess they thought I was crazy."
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Rabeneck was preparing to use a boat Friday to get to his house so he could raise a generator that was in danger of flooding. Assisting him were some friends and volunteers from New Life Church in Pine Bluff, who were assisting residents.
One resident, who asked not to be identified, said all of the help was appreciated but at times there were so many people on the levee that it became a traffic jam. Cars have been lined up on the levee all week, sometimes stretching as far as a half-mile.
"Everybody's curious but, boy, you just wouldn't believe it," the resident said. "You're lucky people want to work together or they'd get into a fistfight down here. People just don't understand, especially people who don't live here and who've never been through this. You got sightseers, and that's just what you don't need."
As he guided the boat next to his front porch, Rabeneck pointed to his garage, where water was halfway up the doorway, and items were sitting just above the waterline.
"There's my grill and some of my other stuff," he said. "If we don't get it out the water's going to get it all."
Next to his front porch, Rabeneck and several helpers stepped off the boat. Four people lifted the generator while Rabeneck and another helper stacked milk crates underneath to raise it above the water.
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"OK, that should do it," he said. "Maybe the water won't get it. I really don't want to lose that."
As he maneuvered back to the levee, Rabeneck said he has no plans to leave the neighborhood.
"It's frustrating, I'll give you that," he said. "But, no, we're going to clean up, redo, and hope it don't happen again.
"Well," he continued, "it's going to happen again, eventually, and I don't want to die young, but when it happens again, I hope I ain't around."
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Joe Spedoni, a volunteer from New Life Church, said the church has been arranging for volunteers to help out during the disaster.
"We're putting together some crews, not just for now, but when the water goes down," Spedoni said. "That's when the work is going to begin. Some people can do their own, but some people don't, or can't, and that's what we're going to help out with."
A Section on 06/01/2019
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