By Marcia Love
It may not appear to have sustained a great deal of flood damage on the main level, but a look into the basement of the Senior Citizens’ Centre and the destruction sustained is evident.
The centre received about four-and-a-half feet of water on June 18, leaving furniture, appliances and equipment water-damaged and covered in mud.
Violet Kaglea, secretary of the seniors’ centre, said she could not believe the mess the flood had created.
“I walked in through the door and when I looked down into the basement it was like looking into a well,” she explained. “(The water) had flipped a counter over on top of the stove and scattered chairs everywhere like they were nothing. The mud was two inches thick on some stuff.”
Kaglea thought the centre had insurance coverage for flooding, but soon discovered it did not.
Among the items damaged by the flood were couches, kitchen appliances, counters, tables, a hot water heater and a number of chairs.
“We had four pool tables... that had water up over the tops of them,” Kaglea said. “We were only able to salvage one of them.”
But the most problematic loss the centre suffered was its two furnaces. One was installed four years ago, while the second was only two years old.
Although the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP) is providing financial support for the replacement of many essential items, Kaglea hoped the centre would receive more for the installation of new furnaces.
The two furnaces cost the centre a total of $7,660. PDAP offered $2,400 altogether for their replacement.
“When they cost us that much and they’re that new we don’t know how we can afford to replace them,” Kaglea explained.
For the 12 hours of labour involved in installing the two furnaces, PDAP allotted $111.
“That’s nothing for a plumber,” she said.
Kaglea is satisfied with the amount provided for the repair and replacement of other items, but is unsure how the centre will pay for the furnaces.
“Everything else seems pretty reasonable, but the most crucial thing... the payment seems inconsequential,” she said. “A lot of the other stuff (damaged in the basement) we can do without, but there’s no way a building can exist without a furnace.”
Kaglea is hopeful the replacement of some equipment and appliances will be made possible through New Horizons for Seniors, which provides funding to non-profit organizations for senior citizens.
The centre’s basement was also used to hold Weight Watchers’ meetings and to store their materials. The group is now using the main floor of the centre for their meetings.

Flood water remains in the basement of the Senior Citizens’ Centre on June 21. The centre lost three of its pool tables due to water damage, as well as two furnaces that were only a few years old.
Photo by Violet Kaglea