KERRVILLE, Texas – Volunteers and business owners across Kerr County are cleaning up after last week’s floods, while many residents wait for state and federal aid.
On Goat Creek Road, close to Junction Road, Taqueria Jalisco saw water rise nearly to the roof. The owner told KSAT he hopes to keep paying his employees what he can but ultimately wants to reopen the business and keep its dozens of workers paid.
On Wednesday, volunteers and restaurant employees worked in the heat to clear out mud and clean patio furniture.
“This is one of my family’s favorite restaurants in town. It’s probably where we come the most,” volunteer Wyatt Wentreck said. “We love it here, so when we heard that it got hit so bad, I just wanted to come out and help how I could.”
John Martinez, an air-conditioning repairman, is working to replace the HVAC unit at the restaurant. He normally has breakfast at the restaurant every day with his father, and said this flood was different from last year’s.
“Last year, it came through the Guadalupe River, because the river came up so much from the north, but this time it came through the creeks,” he said.
Martinez said the community needs volunteers, donations and some companies with heavy machinery to clean up debris. He said it’s surreal that the area is facing this disaster again.
“A lot people are like, ‘I can’t believe I’m back here again, you know, volunteering, helping,’ but that’s what we’re here for,” he said. “I mean, we got to do whatever it takes to get this town back.”
Juan Gonzalez has lived in Kerr County for decades and was out helping clean up. He said his daughter and son-in-law own the restaurant, and he had never seen Goat Creek rise so high.
“I don’t have the words,” he said.
One organization, Kerr Together, is helping the community for the second year in a row. A spokesperson told KSAT people interested in making material donations can contact inkind@gem.org. Business donations can go through the Kerrville Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
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