COMMERCE TREADING WATER AFTER BUYOUT; FLOOD BUYOUT LEAVES BITTER TASTE FOR SOME

A swing and birdhouse at the corner of Cape Girardeau and St. Mary Streets are one of the few reminders of the homes that lined the streets of Commerce.

COMMERCE -- When the Mississippi River floodwaters receded this spring, 25 families left the town's riverfront view for good, leaving behind a weary, waterlogged community, determined to rebuild.

In the front of his car-repair shop, Commerce Mayor Allen Wright took a puff from his cigar and looked out over his town.

"It didn't hurt us that bad," he said finally, after taking a long minute to reflect. "We're getting by, moving along. I don't think that it will leave any permanent damage."

The homes, located in the area of Commerce that floods nearly every spring, were bought by the federal government. In exchange for the flood-prone homes and property in Commerce, residents received a total of about $1,750,000 in federal money and $680,000 from the state.

While three or four families physically moved their homes to higher ground in town, most left their property and Commerce for new and drier places elsewhere.

The government has since destroyed the bought-out homes, leaving a portion of town forever vacant. The government stipulates after a flood buyout that no one can ever live in the sold areas.

Some in town agree with the mayor's sentiments about how innocuous the buyout was and others do not.

"The buyout nearly destroyed the town," said Ann Huck, who was mayor for 25 years until 1994. Huck had her 90-year-old home moved to overlook the town from a high hill in the southeastern part of town.

In addition to having fewer residents, she said it has changed in looks tremendously. The lots formerly occupied by homes are now vacant and overgrown with weeds and trash strewn about, she said.

Fewer people means a smaller town, she said. And fewer people is bad for business.

Some in Commerce say those who were pushing for the buyout were not interested in what was best for Commerce.

"It was criminal what happened in Commerce," said Dixie High. "The way we were treated was horrible."

"The ones making all the decisions had something personal to gain," said High, who is a member of the Commerce Better Communities program. "They wanted to sell their homes and get out. They didn't care what happened to Commerce."

The name atop the list was former Commerce mayor Roy Jones who spearheaded the buyout. He resigned as mayor when his home was bought by the government and moved to Chaffee.

"The board, in a majority, voted for the buyout," Jones said. "It was a unanimous decision. It's true that I took the buyout, it's true that we were involved personally; who wouldn't be? We wanted to get out of the water."

Jones said that as soon as the water comes back up again, he thinks the people who didn't take the offers will wish they had.

"Without a levee, the water's going to fill in Commerce," he said. "The buyout was the best thing that ever happened."

If some suggest that for all practical purposes the buyout has killed Commerce, Wright insists that the village is still very much alive. None of the businesses have gone anywhere, he said. The winery, the car repair shop and the trucking company are all right where they were.

In fact, Wright points out that there is some growth in Commerce since the buyout. There are a couple of new businesses -- a new bed and breakfast and a tavern have opened -- and a new home is being built in Commerce sometime next year.

Ann Williams opened KD's tavern with her husband in August. She said she doesn't think the buyout has hurt the town beyond repair.

She and her husband have lived in Commerce 14 years and felt that starting a business in Commerce was a good idea, despite the decreased population.

"We have a lot of faith in the town," Williams said. "And business is good here."

She said her customer base extends further than Commerce; she has patrons from Scott City, Kelso and Sikeston.

The residents are holding out high hopes for Commerce and believe things will get better.

"I think it'll build back," Huck said. "In time, I think we'll move on and things will slowly turn around for us."

High said there some obstacles to overcome first, including building tourism and enticing people to move to Commerce.

"We have got to get people to recognize that Commerce is not going to die," she said. "That's the perception the media has given but it's not true."