Published October 1, 2015 in the Belleville News-Democrat.
The original article can be found here.

A program focusing on Valmeyer and Pinhook and their relationships to the Mississippi River will be at 6 p.m. Friday at the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center in East Alton.

The panel discussion is called “Changing Currents: Valmeryer and Pinhook Reclaim Community After Flooding.” The two main topics will be the responsibilities of local, state and federal agencies in ensuring rural communities remain viable in disaster; and how the two communities used their cultural strengths in adversity.

Valmeyer, largely destroyed in the flood of 1993, relocated on higher ground east of its original location. Pinhook was flooded in 2011 when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers intentionally breached a levee to alleviate pressure on levees protecting more populated areas. Pinhook residents want to re-establish their town as Valmeyer did and have been promised FEMA buyout money.

For more information about “Changing Currents,” contact Matt Meacham, of Illinois Humanities, at matt.meacham@ilhumanities.org or 312-422-5589.