
BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
GRASSY, Ky. — John and Lisa Mollett fled for their lives Saturday as the ground beneath their home gave way, splitting the foundation and crumbling the back wall and floor into the shifting soil below. They left with the clothes on their backs.
Their house, perched along Old Route 3 on the bank of Rockcastle Creek in Grassy, now sits in ruins.
“The house is not livable,” Lisa said Monday in an interview.

The Molletts noticed a crack in the soil behind their house around the first week of April. As recent heavy rains continually battered the area, the crack spread around behind the home.
“As it moved, the crack started sinking,” Lisa said. “It got all the way around the back of our house and started back up the bank. It put a large crack down the back of our house. Then Saturday, the whole back wall and floor collapsed.”
Lisa had taken their daughter to the prom and was not home when it happened. John—who has battled cancer and is undergoing at-home dialysis—said he was inside the home when the structure started to give way.
When Lisa and their daughter returned home, they found an opening at the base of the wall all along the first floor at the back of the home.
“One corner of the porch dropped down about 8 feet,” explained Lisa. “Now the whole back wall is gone.”
The Molletts attribute the incident to the heavy rains.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve had a slip in our yard,” Lisa shared. “We had one 10 years ago due to a leaky water line that was supposed to have been removed but had not been removed. The water company ultimately installed a new tap and we received our water from the other side of the road.”
Following that event, the couple purchased a backhoe, and John took it upon himself to fill and repair the ground.
“This had nothing to do with the water company,” said Lisa of the catastrophe. “This had to be all the rain, but the crack is in the same place.”
Realizing the danger, the family fled the home and abandoned all their belongings. They were afraid to enter the structure.
“It could cave in at any moment,” said Lisa. “We’ve lost our appliances, bedding—everything. It’s like starting over again.”
The Molletts, now staying in a motel, have enrolled in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s home buyout program, which, according to local officials, may take several months to process. In the meantime, they are hoping to find a place to rent or purchase so they can “start life again.”
Their granddaughter, Breanna Delong, has launched a GoFundMe campaign in hopes of securing whatever financial assistance kind-hearted people are able to give. So far, donations have trickled in from friends, neighbors and even strangers moved by their story.
Among those leading the charge to help is Martin County Sheriff John Kirk, a longtime friend of the Molletts and fellow church member.
“I drove by there a couple of days ago and noticed the whole back of the house was breaking,” Kirk said. “The basement wall has already fallen.”
Kirk is particularly concerned about John Mollett’s health.
“John has battled cancer and is now on dialysis. He’s in failing health, so I wanted to try to make sure he has a roof over his head.”
Kirk took to Facebook over the weekend to ask the community for assistance and has since located a potential rental home for the couple. Without guarantees from FEMA about temporary housing, Kirk said local support is crucial.
“I don’t know if FEMA will help him or not, but if FEMA is not going to pay for him a place to stay, then we want to try to get support to help him,” Kirk said. “I felt that that was the least that I could do for him to help him get back on his feet. He doesn’t need all this stress now with him having to do dialysis.”
The sheriff is collecting donations in his office for those who are not comfortable using online platforms.
“A lot of people don’t use apps. I don’t like using it myself,” he said. “So if anyone wants to drop off donations here, I will make sure John gets it and that they know where it goes.”
Kirk sees the effort as a moral obligation.
“I’m just trying to help what I can,” he added. “You know one person can’t do a lot, but a whole lot of us—if we do a little, it does a lot. I know most everyone is financially strapped, but if you can find it in your heart to help get them a home, it would be a blessing to a very sick man.”
To donate online, visit gofund.me/aa94db11.
