Near the corner of Clark and 7th Streets, members of the Fort Scott Presbyterian and Apostolic Christian churches are conducting some much-needed repairs on a home. The house, which Chris Wuthrich says has been uninhabited for 2 years, had a large roof leak and several holes in its siding and walls.

 

Today, Ralph Carlson, Chris Wuthrich and Ryan Kelleberger cut and nailed up siding in preparation for more work to be done on the house. According to Carlson, the workers had to remove about 8 feet of rotten wood and a chimney that had caused water to leak continuously into the home. Carlson said of the family who owns the home, “These are good people–they need it, they appreciate it.”

After the three men finish the work to the siding, crews of workers from Apostolic Christian Churches all over the Midwest will travel to Fort Scott a few at a time in order to replace the roof, for which the Presbyterian Church has provided roofing materials. Tools, a truck and trailer have been provided through an organization from the Apostolic Christian Church, the Apostolic Christian World Relief program. According to Wuthrich, teams will be coming in from several Kansas congregations, including Bern, Sabetha, Lamont-Gridley, Wichita and Kansas City, and one group hailing from Milford, Indiana. Saturday July 13th, the first team from Bern and Sabetha will arrive to work on the roof.

These efforts from the area churches help to relieve those whose homes were uninsured after the April hailstorm. According to Wuthrich, there exist around 3,500 homes in the city, of which 10% were not insured at the time of the storm. Wuthrich said that this work by the churches was part of the relief effort, but that some uninsured homeowners are qualified for a special grant.