Workers Relieve Homeowner of 27,000 Pound Problem

Construction workers have removed a 27,000 problem from a Port Arthur home near the Rainbow Bridge.

When Hurricane Ike moved in the surge pushed a large boat and three smaller boats onto property a grandmother's family has owned for decades.

Verna Bordelon watched as a crane lifted a 27,000 pleasure boat out of the side of her home underneath the Rainbow Bridge in Port Arthur.

"I was speechless to have a boat right on my deck," said Bordelon.

She evacuated before Hurricane Ike hit she says nothing could have prepared her for the devastation it left behind.

Nine feet of water poured inside her home of 30 years.

"Undescribable, the loss. I had all my furniture, clothes, kitchen utensils, everything was devastated."

"We were able to get on the bridge," said Bordelon's son, Tyrus. "It had water up to the house. You could see the boats floating around the house."

Bordelon's son Tyrus and her two daughters provided moral support while the boat was removed. It has been a roadblock to fixing the property.

So far, two have been removed. Bordelon says the two other boat owners don't have insurance. She doesn't know when they'll be removed.

"Saturday they came in with a 75 ton crane and spent all day Saturday setting up. They tried to lift it and the crane started coming off the ground so they had to shut down and bring back a larger crane."

A 200 ton crane did the job Monday.

But Bordelon says while one large obstacle is now out of the way, it's still the little things that break her heart.

While watching workers move the boat, she spotted a napkin holder. She owned 12 of them.

Bordelon says she'll cherish the belongings she can salvage.

But the most important thing to her family is salvaging the home and property they've owned for decades in order to pass it on to future generations.

Bordelon has been staying with relatives since the storm.

She plans to move back into her own home as soon as she can.