BY ANDREA TORTORA
The Cincinnati Enquirer

ALEXANDRIA - Officials from the Pendleton County cities demolished by floodwaters are getting a special invitation for Sunday.

Tim Baynum, owner of the Texas Two Step Night Club, is asking them to come to his barn. If they show up, he'll give them all the cash he collects from the $10 admission fee he's charging for an eight-hour benefit event he's planned.

''It's just something I thought of,'' Mr. Baynum said. ''I wanted to do something to help them, especially since they are so close.''

The idea has snowballed into a communitywide event. When Denise Elbisser of Withamsville heard about the benefit, she started calling businesses to get donations.

She's come up with more than $1,000 in prizes and supplies, everything from paper plates to a limo and tickets for the Grand Victoria Casino. Continuous raffles will help raise even more money for Pendleton County.

''This fits right in with my personality,'' Ms. Elbisser said. ''I'm naturally pushy, but all the businesses are jumping to help.''

Ms. Elbisser has even roped her parents, Paul and Claudiene Elbisser, into cooking the pig.

Mr. Baynum wants to see 400 people fill the dance floor and tables inside the white barn with red trim that sits on a hill overlooking U.S. 27 just north of Pendleton County.

There'll be enough food for 500 people, all of it donated by grocery stores and restaurants. The Elbissers will start roasting the pig Saturday.

There'll be live music, too. Six bands - Diamond Back, Dakota Rock, Six-Pack, Nashville North, Kilgore Trout & Wolf Creek Band and Inside Out will play from 2 to 10 p.m.

Falmouth Mayor Max Goldberg, City Councilman Anthony Strong and others will be there. Mr. Strong spoke with Mr. Baynum earlier this week, to make sure the event was legitimate.

''I wanted official folks there to ease people's minds, so they would know the money is going to the right place,'' Mr. Baynum said.

Proceeds will be deposited into the Falmouth Flood Relief Fund, set up to aid residents and business owners. The fund already has raised more than $40,000.

''The fact that all the water is gone doesn't matter because the support is still here,'' Ms. Elbisser said.

COMMEMORATIVE SECTION
FLOOD STORIES
FLOOD PHOTOS