South Bend couple calls on Commissioners for help with flooding in Jewel Woods neighborhood

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — A South Bend couple are continuing to call on St. Joseph County Commissioners to find solutions to the flooding in the Jewel Woods Neighborhoods.

After a week of contacting local and state officials, Andrew Tipldos and his wife, Heather, are starting to get some assistance.

Eight days ago, ABC57 reporter Zakiya Jennings was standing in Tipaldos' backyard in rainboots as it was extremely saturated and full of puddles after the torrential rain that hit during the July 4 weekend.

After the story aired, many people wondered what's happened since the first story aired.

A lot has happened for him since then. First, Andrew's wife, Heather, made it to South Bend from North Carolina. He's also received support and advice from people online, some even offering to talk to him to find a solution. The online support went beyond just a Facebook comment section.

"There's a great description here about the situation."

Conrad Chase, a coworker and now irreplaceable friend of Andrew's, set up a GoFundMe for him.

"One, not only is it a friend in need that I care about, but there are other people in this community that are around this house that are also in need that may not have the voice to express what’s going on or do something about it. It just didn't feel right, and when things don't feel right, we should do something about it,” shared Chase.

Tipaldos also met with an inspector.

"He said we’re going to put a berm about this high and it’s gonna go all the way down through my yard. It’s going to turn across the front. We have to rip up the driveway, put a new driveway higher, put a speed table in to prevent the water from coming back and we’re going to have to seal up by the front of the house where I have the sandbags," Tipaldos explained.

Last week, Carl Baxmeyer, President of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners, offered to meet with Andrew. They met in person today.

"I had a meeting this morning with the Board of Commissioners. Carl, Anthony, and an emergency management guy named James."

He's talking about James Lopez, Deputy Director for The St. Joseph County Emergency Management Agency.

"We talked about the issues. James Lopez said basically he knows that the house sits low. He’s known it for a long time. When Carl and Anthony asked me if they would clean out the ditch and maybe give me some of that dirt to raise my property, James Lopez said no we’re not going to clean out the ditch. It’s an issue, we know it’s an issue and you’re just going to have to deal with it.”

Until that gets resolved, Andrew and Heather will continue lining their house and fence with sandbags. However, for Andrew, this fight Isn't over until something is done.

"This is not just me against the government. This could happen to you. This happens all these nice folks in this neighborhood.”

We reached out to Commissioner Baxmeyer and Deputy Director Lopez for comment. We have not heard back from Commissioner Baxmeyer but Deputy Director Lopez responded Tuesday afternoon.

"Good afternoon,

After the meeting with Andrew this morning, the Commissioners and I spoke about going to look at the Phillips Ditch on Thursday to look at possible ways to address the flooding in the area."

Tipaldos has also been in contact in Congressman Rudy Yakym's office as well as Senator David Niezgodski.

This is the GoFundMe Conrade Chase set up for Andrew and Heather Tipaldos.