PETERSBURG, Tenn. (WTVF) — Many in Petersburg woke up Sunday morning to find parts of their community flooded. For some, the work is just beginning.
Coming through Petersburg, you might wonder; What is the story with the restaurant with one sign that says Tina's and another that says Paislee's Place?
"My aunt bought the building 20 years ago," said Brandy Rudy.
That's Aunt Tina.
"Then, we bought it from her," Brandy continued. "We changed the name to Paislee's."
"Do people ever ask questions?" I asked.
"Oh yeah! All the time!" Brandy laughed. "But a lot of the locals know the story, so they understand."
Keeping the Tina sign up is just part of the small comforts Brandy has maintained at this place.
Even with those longstanding ties to the area, she hasn't seen anything like the past few days.
"It actually did come into the building and flooded the restaurant," Brandy said. "I was worried about our residents too. Some people are pulling floor coverings, pulling their furniture and things like that out. I know some of them flooded their vehicles."
That's the case for Myron Edmiston.
"I'm hoping my cars start," Myron said, looking at the flood level lines on his three vehicles. "It got up pretty high, man. Got up really high. You can see right there, the level on that step right there? That's how high it got up on my fifth step. My neighbor's house, she got flooded. I told her today, she needs help, anybody over there, I help them the best I can. I pray for everybody, you know."
That spirit is all around Petersburg now. Paislee's Place has flood insurance. There's the very start of restoration work happening now, but the crew never slowed down. The way they see it, people in this community have been part of water rescues and helping with recovery efforts, and they have to keep them fed. After all, it's what Aunt Tina would do.
"We're really proud of our community and our citizens," Brandy said. "In a town this size, you have so many friends and family, and you know so many of the people, they are a piece of your heart."
Petersburg Mayor Shentel Gatlin told NewsChannel 5 in a statement;
"Our town wishes to thank all involved, Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, Lincoln and Marshall Counties Swift Water Rescue, Lincoln County EMA and the Lincoln County Volunteer Fire and Rescue for their swift response to the emergency calls stemming from a flash flood situation in the Town of Petersburg on Saturday, March 15th, 2025. There were three families rescued from their homes. Two of these families returned to their homes by Sunday evening. Townhall escaped any damage, but the Town building used for storage as well as a propane tank were damaged by the flood.
To my knowledge, only one business on the Town Square sustained any damage. The owners quickly responded and were back open by Monday. Two other off-square businesses suffered damage, but to my knowledge, have resumed operations at this time. All businesses mentioned are locally owned and operated.
We were fortunate that there were no casualties and are thankful that God held our Town in His protecting hand."
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
Fundraising efforts are underway in Brownsville and Nutbush, TN to build a statue for a major superstar who was raised there, Anna Mae Bullock. You probably know her by her stage name, Tina Turner. I was a huge fan of Tina and glad to see efforts are underway to showcase more of her ties to West Tennessee.
-Lelan Statom
