Compassion
First to Help BY TINA V. BRYSON
F
or homeowner Ronald Fletcher and his wife, Mira, July 26, 2022, was a wonderful day. Three years prior, they had bought their home, and they’d been working hard to pay it off. That Tuesday, they made the final payment on their home: a dream of many families. Now, this house really belonged to them. But their elation wouldn’t last — because just
24 The Mountain SPIRIT
two days later, historic flooding in Eastern Kentucky caused the creek by their house to rise, leaving 3 feet of water in their home, which sits 11 feet off the ground. “When you hear about rain in this area, you take notice, but we had never seen floodwater in this house before,” said Fletcher, the father of two. “We stayed until we had