Residents Of Nebraska Town Considering Uphill Move

WINSLOW - Residents of a Nebraska town are considering an uphill move to avoid any future flooding issues.

The Associated Press says that the town of Winslow had nearly all of its 38 homes and 10 other buildings damaged in the March flooding. Town leaders are now proposing moving Winslow out of the flood plain, possibly to a hilltop two miles away.

Volunteer Fire Chief Zachary Klein says the process could take two years, and says funding is available from federal, state, and local sources. Residents can take a government buyout of their current property so they can move their houses or build new ones.

Lots at the new town site would be chosen via a lottery process, and Winslow would be re-created as a sanitary improvement district that would lay roads and utilities. Excess lots would be sold for new homes, helping Dodge County's current housing shortage and boosting Winslow's population and tax base.

There is no deadline yet for reaching a consensus on moving the town, and while a handful of families have said they would like to remain in Winslow, the rest are either undecided or might leave the town for good.