Library Volunteers Battle Water Damage

The forces of El Nino did not scare 70 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who marched into the battered Buena Park Library to put right what nature had put asunder.

Even as water seeped through the basement floors of the 30-year-old building on La Palma Avenue, the volunteers Saturday stripped ruined paneling, carpeting and tiled floors. They pruned bushes, painted poles and even shampooed upholstery in a one-day cleaning effort.

“They took shelving apart, separated it, moved it and kept all the books in Dewey decimal order,” said Colleen McGregor, the director of the Buena Park Library District, who marveled at the volunteers. “We have some major renovation to do here. But if I had had to pay for demolition work, it would have cost thousands.”

McGregor said she has applied for $40,000 in disaster aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to repair damage from the storms. Hardest hit was the basement auditorium, where story-telling, plays and other programs were offered for children. The heavy rain that fell this season raised the water table so high that it soaked through the floors and walls of the underground room, McGregor said.

When Jerry Guthrie, a retiree who volunteers at the library, was asked by fellow church members to find an activity for their community service month, he directed them to the damaged building.

Four congregations, called wards in the Mormon church, came from Cypress, Buena Park, La Palma, Anaheim and Stanton with paint rollers, brooms, hammers and other tools.

The result, Guthrie said, was wonderful.

“It happened on Saturday and on Sunday everybody was riding high,” the Buena Park resident said. “You always have these good feelings when you help people in need.”