(Editor's Note: This letter to the editor was originally submitted the week before the village elections and was not be printed due to our election time editorial policies.)

I am a 30-year resident of the village and for the last two years our block (and many others in the village) have been flooding. It was caused by a back up of the storm in drains, one of which is directly in front of my home.

For the last two years almost all the residents of my block have complained to the village and they have never responded. The water would be thigh high in the street and come up and cover my lawn and basement, reaching the first step into my home.

Finally last August we had another heavy rain and this time it flooded my basement. I lost everything in it and in having the basement partially demolished it was found that I had severe mold contamination.

Again when I called the village I spoke to a man in sanitation. He advised me it was happening all over the village and his hands were tied. It was also mentioned, however, that when flooding occurred near the post office, the storm drain was cleaned immediately. It wasn't until November that they came to clean out the drain, at which time the workers told me it was clogged both ways.

I have been sick for many months and have had to get weekly injections to control respiratory symptoms I have never suffered from before. In addition the mold remediation lasted five weeks at which time I could not use the back door. The end result was $32,000 just for the mold cleanup and an additional almost $10,000 to grade my property to try to protect myself.

You can bet if it was on a block that the mayor lived on this problem would have been addressed. I am a 30-year resident who pays the ever-increasing village taxes. I have not been able to work at all and will likely have to have a number of tests to find out if the mold has caused an infection because I am still ill.

Through it all I called and left messages for Mayor Graf and went down to Village Hall speaking to Dave Smollett, who promised a return call in August, 2007. He also told me that there is only enough money in the budget to clean the drains out once every three years, whether they are clogged or not. Yet they came up with the money to send Santa around and decorate the village. Other calls and emails were not returned and he has only contacted me because I've sent registered letters for legal action.

Based on what the Department of Sanitation told me, I am not the only resident in the village who has suffered from these floods. It has occurred on many, many streets and has impacted other residents. My neighbors had French drains installed as well as a driveway and sealant.

Carole Provenzale