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Community Corner

Residents Work Together To Clean Up Beach After Irene's Visit!

Seaview Beach Association members gathered together on a beautiful sunny Saturday and worked together to restore their beach.

The morning after Irene passed through town leaving devastation in her wake Seaview Beach resident David Graham watched as his red kayak floated, nose up, away from Seaview Beach. 

“Six or seven years ago it washed up on the beach and nobody claimed it so I had it for a while and the sea just took it back,” said Graham.  Stepping over pieces of wood haphazardly lying around, nails pocking out, Graham left the beach after surveying the damage.

“Seaview Beach lost all its cabanas, except one, major amounts of sand, kayaks strewn about,” Graham said.  “It looks like nobody got hurt, which is the most important thing,” he added.

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Five days later, Graham’s neighbors and fellow Seaview Beach Association members gathered together on a beautiful sunny Saturday and worked together to restore their beach.

Graham says after living here for 55 years “this is worst I’ve seen in my lifetime, as far as flooding.  I’ve seen higher winds, but this is the worst flooding.  This is probably more like the Hurricane of ’38.”

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Cary Weisiger’s family has had property in the Seaview neighborhood since 1938.  “We’re just trying to clean up some the mess,” Weisigner said.  “We’ve already filled up that dumpster and we’re going to have to get another one,” he added.

Bill Plunkett, owner of Wm. Plunkett & Associates, LLC General Contractors, said he was assisting in the cleanup with his huge construction equipment because a lot his customers live in the neighborhood and “sometimes you take and sometimes you give.”  He was assisting in removing the extremely large pieces of debris that required more than manpower!

While much of the mess is being removed, some of the brush is being used to build up the ravaged dunes.  “Any of the debris that’s kind of manageable we’re pushing it back a little bit so when high tide comes and it pushes the surf up and it pushes the sand it’ll kind of build its own natural dunes,” explained Bob Goodman.

“Earlier this morning we had probably a third of the neighborhood working like worker bees, like ants, all over just cleaning up,” said Tammey Rooney.

“It looks 100% different,” said Rooney.   “A big effort accomplished in a few hours!”

“The neighborhood is totally dedicated to the beach,” said Rooney.  Standing nearby, her neighbors and friends chimed in, “Absolutely, we love our beach!”

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