Family gets washed-out driveway replaced

Volunteerism is still alive and well in Wake Forest.

Less than two weeks after hearing about a woman and her pregnant daughter, whose driveway had been washed away by the flooding of Tropical Storm Alberto, the Wake Forest Community Response Team gathered resources from throughout the community and fixed the problem.

Christy and Candy Brown had been unable to drive their cars up their driveway to reach their home on North Main Street.

Trying to get the problem fixed turned out to be a bureaucratic nightmare.

But soon after members of the community response team caught wind of the problem, they set about soliciting volunteers to rebuild the driveway.

On Saturday, contractors with dirt, stone, pipes and trackhoes showed up to rebuild the road.

Mike Marguerat, owner of Landmark Construction, said the community response team’s involvement in the project gave legitimacy to the need.

“We’re worker-types. We would rather somebody else come up with a need. Then we don’t mind taking care of the need,” Marguerat said.

Christy Brown said the work of the volunteers last Saturday answered a lot of prayers.

“It’s just good to know that there are people who are willing to help out when there is truly a need. We feel really blessed that they were able to help us out the way they did,” Brown said.

The work actually began late last week as employees of Hicks Utilities, Hanson Aggregate and Mill Ridge Grading dropped off materials.

On Saturday, Marguerat, Linwood Hicks and two of their employees, along with members of the community response team, showed up bright and early to start work.

Nearly 12 hours later, the Browns had a driveway.

The construction effort wasn’t without setbacks. A trackhoe Marguerat rented got stuck in the mud after it came off its track.

Hicks brought in another trackhoe to get the work done.

Mike Johnson, a member of the community response team who coordinated Saturday’s effort, said it was the first project the group has taken on locally, after traveling twice to Mississippi to aid in post-Katrina recovery efforts.

“This really fit the bill for the kinds of things we try to do,” Johnson said.

But Johnson said other factors motivated the group to step in with assistance.

“The fact that she was pregnant and had no access was a real concern. There was no way an emergency vehicle could have gotten to them if it needed to,” Johnson said.

The day-long effort wasn’t without a share of fun. Saturday afternoon, Christy Brown walked down the hill from her house to the worksite, dragging a cooler filled with water.

To the men working, it looked like she was pulling a suitcase.

Marguerat said everyone thought she had gone into labor.

“We got together and elected Mike to deliver the baby,” Margeurat joked.

Saturday’s repair job ended a four-month effort by Christy Brown and her mother to find help repairing the driveway.

The repair job was beyond their means, and every turn Christy Brown took ended in a dead end.

“I know that blessings are returned to people who do good things, and I hope the people who helped us out will have their blessings magnified tenfold.”