Greensburg resident urges county action after years of backyard flooding; officials say crews will inspect after chip sealing

Merle Donahoe, a resident of 10856 Southeast Street in Greensburg, told Rush County commissioners she has endured recurring flooding at her home for years and described one recent event when "it was over a foot and a half" of water at her front step that left her unable to leave for three days.

Donahoe said a railroad ditch and nearby culverts are clogged with trees, briars and other debris and that gravel has been piled at one end, slowing drainage onto county right-of-way. She told the commissioners she had previously contacted county staff, including Jeff Wilson, and said promises to maintain the ditch had not been kept.

An unnamed commissioner responding at the meeting said county staff and a crew member named Jerry had visited the site and that work on chip sealing in the area had to be completed first. The commissioner said, after chip sealing crews finish, county staff expect to return to inspect and address the ditch "within a week or two." Staff also said they would check the ditch on 1100 South and noted some runoff ultimately flows onto private farmland outside county control.

The exchange recorded a request by Donahoe to share photographs of the flooding with staff; she said her phone battery later died but that she had sent photos earlier to a county contact. The county framed its response as an operational scheduling matter—prioritizing chip sealing and then targeted ditch work—while noting limits where drainage extends beyond county-owned right-of-way.

The commissioners did not adopt a separate emergency measure during the meeting; staff committed to follow up with inspection and maintenance work after the chip sealing is complete.