Eyes that see the good in things- July 23, 2018

We don’t have to look far to see the good in things this week. First of all, there was no one hurt in the July 8 storm that caused so much damage. However, the effects of this storm will change the looks of New Rockford’s tree lined streets for a long time to come. The calm after the storm came Sunday morning and was the beginning of a flurry of activity for the people of Eddy County, New Rockford and Sheyenne. I woke up to wind damage in my own yard, but it wasn’t long before I was getting Facebook notifications from the Transcript Facebook page and I began to get an idea about the magnitude of the damage in New Rockford. Like the one Transcript publisher Amy Wobbema shared from the New Rockford Fire Department,

“Although the National Weather Service does not have wind measurement gear in the New Rockford area, they did record gusts over 100 MPH in other locations from the same storm that hit New Rockford.

There are hundreds...if not thousands of trees down. Ottertail Power is working on damage assessment, but you should prepare to be without power for most of the day and potentially overnight. Some will see power back sooner than others. All critical facilities are running on standby generators.

Travel is very difficult throughout town. So please stay home. There are no injuries reported at this time and we want to keep it that way.”

Facebook messages like these just kept coming from the fire department, the Transcript, the Eddy County page and the volunteer page, and each of them really turned out to be a blessing. Many people still had access to their phones, so even without, power, these organizations were able to get the latest communications out to the people who needed the information.

The New Rockford Fire Department and city crews were out in the streets early that morning. One woman reported that she was standing on her steps, surveying the storm damage when she heard voices, saying that the woman who lived in the house across the street from hers was trapped inside her house. There was a tree across her steps and another one that had fallen behind her car. These people were out walking the streets making sure that people were okay. The city crew has worked so hard and is still working to cut up and remove trees them.

Once again, those electrical linemen from both Otter Tail Power Company and Northern Plains Electric stepped up in a crisis. I’ve heard so many good things about the crews that came in—and they came en masse. The number of trucks and people that Otter Tail sent in was impressive, and even though the damage was great, power was completely restored by Tuesday evening. Crews then came in to get the cable and Internet back up.

The organizations that sent food and water were appreciated, as were the extra generators and air conditioners for the Lutheran Home of the Good Shepherd. The volunteers who came from other towns, bringing chainsaws with them were much appreciated. The stories of volunteers who just stepped in to help are many.

The Bethel Assembly of God had a group of people who spent the day cleaning up. They weren’t the only ones, but one group of young men from New Rockford had gotten into a pick-up with chainsaws and started working around town early in the day. Again and again these two groups saw each other hard at work throughout the day. The group of young men cut up about 30 trees and as the day came to a close, they went to connect a generator at one of their homes. That was when the members of the Bethel group drove up to help remove the stumps and debris in the yard.

One elderly man was standing outside looking at a downed tree in his yard, when a group of young men the man said he didn’t know, just started cutting up the tree. He said, almost before he knew what was happening, the tree was gone.

The county had trees removed, and they don’t even know who did it or who to thank, but they’re thankful. County officials were out helping with clean-up almost right away. Sheriff Lies was seen pushing trees off the streets and Eddy County’s Emergency Manager Jess Earle was out cleaning up the highway.

Deb Belquist started coordinating the volunteers, using Facebook, phone calls and word of mouth. A woman called asking for help; she had a tree down on her car and on her house. She didn’t have the equipment to take care of it. Not long after the call was put out on the volunteer page, a crew responded, and it wasn’t long before the trees were taken care of.

For days to come, other groups fitted with chainsaws, trucks and heavy equipment worked throughout the town, helping people cut up the trees and clean them out of the yards.

Then the calls started coming for some of the big jobs. The cemetery lost so many of its beautiful trees. Volunteers brought equipment and spent many hours cleaning up. Then the call came for volunteers for the golf course. Thanks to the volunteers, the golf course was able to reopen the following Thursday. The park was cleaned up in the same way.

The clean up still continues and there are still people who need help but the many, many stories about people helping people was heartening and it truly was good to see.

We would love to share local stories about the good things your eyes are seeing.

Stop in to share your stories with us, give us a call at 947-2417 or e-mail us at [email protected]. Or send a letter to Eyes That See the Good in Things, c/o Allison Lindgren, The Transcript, 6 8th St N., New Rockford, ND 58356.