Cocke Co. workers give up paid holiday to clean up flood aftermath

A paid holiday turned into an extra-long working day for around 40 employees in Cocke County on Wednesday.

"When it comes to floods, we're just at the mercy of picking up the pieces on it," said Alton Cureton with the Cocke County Highway Department.

He said workers were up before dawn to scout out and repair the damage left behind by several inches of rainfall Tuesday.

"We have a lot of trees that fall when there's a lot of water. We have a lot of mudslides. The banks just fall off onto the road," Cureton said. "When the water gets up across the road, it leaves a lot of debris, tree branches, stumps, whatever, in the road, and that type stuff just balloons and goes on. There's so much else that comes with this other than just the water itself."

There were problems along several county roads, including Middle Creek Road, Bogard Road, and Chavis Road.

Along Wilton Springs Road, three cabins that sit along Cosby Creek practically became part of the creek, as water washed over driveways and over picnic tables.

"The creeks were extremely high, and the road were I live was closed off 'cause the creek was flowing into the road," said Wendy Hannah, whose grandmother owns Shirley's Family Restaurant.

Business there was good on Wednesday.

"We had a lot of people come in just to see the flooding and stop by, get something to eat, 'cause you could see it so well from the restaurant," said Jessie Williams, an employee at the restaurant.

Highway department officials said employees would work as long as necessary - through the weekend, if necessary - to clean up the roads and repair the damage.