Chico and Dawn on TV; View Video

From NBC15 - Madison HERE

Relationship on the Mend

The road to flood recovery is a long and tough one for those only dealing with their own problems.

For some that's not enough. One family is putting the community and waters they love as priority number one.

For Chico Pope it's been rocky relationship. The same waters he loves that keep his business thriving, also able to take so much away so quickly.

He says, "It's awful. It's devastating. People lost their houses. Their families are falling apart. It's a huge disaster."

Pope and his wife suffered damage to all three of their lakefront properties.

Dawn Pope says, "One is completely gutted now, just down to the studs and we don't know when we are going to be able to get going on that."

But in the midst of the cleanup the Popes are looking forward, putting their problems on the back burner and raising money that will help everyone.

Chico says, "It's a challenge. It's exhausting to be honest with you."

Practically before the last sandbag was placed and with help from their neighbors the Pope's began dreaming up this fundraiser. Raising money to turn these banks back into the beautiful shoreline they remember.

There are hundreds of spots across the area where things like garbage cans have washed on to shore and even pieces of metal re bar. With all this stuff littering the area money raised will go to clean it up.

Chico says, "It's important to all of us that we rebuild it, we get it back open again, get it alive again."

Cleaning up a shoreline and with it raising the spirits of an entire area who need this water as much as they do each other.

Dawn says, "Things are coming back but it's been a while"

A relationship on the mend, that they're determined to see through.

Money raised will be used to hire contractors that will circle the Rock River and Lake Koshkonong and remove debris.