Flooding on the Mississippi River continues to make its way south from Iowa, putting towns from Quincy to Grafton on alert. With historic buildings, a post office and a dozen homes all in the path of the flood, Clarksville, Mo., 75 miles north of St. Louis, has more to lose than most. Volunteers organized by AmeriCorps St. Louis spent the weekend building a sandbag levee along buildings on First Street, which runs parallel to the river. Disaster Response Coordinator Clare Holdinghaus said the high volunteer turnout combined with a reduction in predicted flood levels puts the flood preparation ahead of schedule. This is the sixth flood the town has seen since Clarksville Mayor Jo Anne Smiley took office 10 years ago. But this year, there’s one difference. The board of aldermen has decided that the town won’t foot the bill to pay for flood preparation and cleanup. “That was a tough decision. That was a tough thing to do,” Smiley said. “But you can’t make a decision, I think, in all good
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