HANNIBAL, MO. -- Throughout the week, KHQA's taking a look back on 2010.
Wednesday, we asked Hannibal's City Manager Jeff LaGarce to relive his most memorable moment.
"2010 has been a tough year. The flash flooding on July 20 really caused a lot of problems in this community. The floods always do, but this one was unique because we had people whose property was flooded that'd never been wet before during a traditional Mississippi River flood. The recovery process has been difficult and probably the most disappointing part of this was that this region did not receive any disaster assistance from the federal government," said LaGarce.
Months later, residents still suffer from the flood's aftermath. But LaGarce says the city continues to do what it can to help.
"Every flood the city's ever had, Bear Creek has been an issue. We're taking a real hard look at these creek corridors and the possibility of doing some cleanup on them, maybe some recreational improvements," said LaGarce.
Mother Nature aside, residents won't have to deal with many more bumps in the road. The city's transportation has become much smoother in the last year.
"Within the last 60 days, we've fixed West Ely Road. We've overlayed roads like Warren Barrett Drive and Palmyra Road."
The city's also received the green light on improvements for Paris Gravel Road and the Stardust Expansion. It's also preparing to break ground on a new airport terminal.
Hannibal's Downtown also will get a facelift with the Main Street Sidewalk Program.
"That's a project I very much expect to be built in 2011," said LaGarce. "We're very excited about it."
Hannibal's new Prison Labor Program has helped with the town's facelift, while cutting costs to house inmates by three quarters.
"We can allow people at a fixed rate per hour, to work off these fines. Instead of you sitting in jail unproductive and incurring costs, you can be helping in community projects. That's been a very successful project," said LaGarce.
It's one of many projects LaGarce hopes to continue into the new year.
Thursday, we'll look back on 2010 with Macomb's Mayor Mick Wisslead.
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