Good Samaritan Gives Struggling Man a New Home

Photo by Jason Reynolds Vicky Bunch stands on a bank next to the collapsed back wall of her home near Decatur. Since the bank collapsed into her home last Tuesday, volunteers have rebuilt the wall and are restoring her home.


Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Jason Reynolds Staff Writer

DECATUR - The Christmas spirit is shining bright here, where many people from inside and outside the community are pulling together to help a woman whose home was demolished by a crumbling bank during the recent rainstorm.

Vicky Bunch has been staying next door in her brother Tommy's house since last Tuesday when the back wall came crashing in at her home on Highway 30 west of Decatur. She said she barely escaped being caught in the collapse because her dog woke her up. Bunch let the dog go outside, and that's when the wall next to her bed collapsed and filled her home with mud.

Bunch's insurance company looked at the damage and said it would not cover the claim, leaving her without hope of fixing her home. But then a groundswell of support rose up to help Bunch, a Volunteer Energy Cooperative customer service agent.

"Words cannot say how I feel," Bunch said. "I'm just blown away."

The Meigs County Emergency Management Service, Meigs County Rescue Squad, County Road Commissioner Tim Jennings and numerous churches and businesses joined together to help rebuild Bunch's home.

Over the weekend, volunteers shored up the bank and rebuilt the collapsed wall, said Tommy Bunch, who believes his sister can be back in her home by the weekend. Her personal items that are left after the collapse are drying out before they're moved back to the house.

Volunteers planned to clean the home, paint walls and install linoleum, said Meigs County EMS director Tony Finnell. Even after Vicky Bunch returns to her home, volunteers will be working around the house for a while, he said. While they worked, the volunteers ate courtesy of Piggly Wiggly and Volunteer Energy Cooperative, he said.

"The community has come together very well," Finnell said. "It's not one person - it's been a lot of people."

Gentry & Painter Inc., of Chattanooga, was one company that volunteered labor to rebuild the house's wall, said Michael Wilson, the contractor's vice president. Area block companies donated materials.

Wilson said he learned of Bunch's plight because he goes to church with Jennings, who called him to ask for help. "Anytime I can, I'm glad to help," Wilson said. "We're glad to do it for the community."

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