The big news this week is the high water, and we sure got our share of it. We can be thankful that we made it through without loss of life. I am certain that there were property losses, but it is wonderful that so much help was tendered to those who were or are in need.
Volunteers, plus the persons who look after our daily needs in case of accidents and emergencies, are wonderful as they give assistance when needed. This flood brings to memory previous floods I have seen or involved me.
As a youth in Oklahoma, we had the drought, which brought on the ”dust bowls” in the summer, but in the spring, we would have torrents of rain causing floods. There were not enough lakes and ponds to contain water, so in summer it was dry.
After World War II, many reclamation projects and different farming practices cured a lot of wet and dry problems.
Shortly before I retired in 1974, I was piloting an aircraft from Colorado to Washington, D.C., to take a general to a meeting. When we crossed the Mississippi River north of St. Louis, the sight of so much water was astounding. The Ohio, Missouri and Mississippi rivers were all in flood and I had never seen so much land covered from the storms that had occurred.
Back here at home, the Corps of Engineers have a tough job planning to keep water in the reservoirs for summer and releasing water for the fish, farming, recreation and supply for the population’s water needs. They have to protect the dams and waterways, requiring them to constantly get and use the meteorological information available. I don’t envy them that responsibility.
They have to make decisions when to release the water and still not flood us out. We have our opinions and blame the Corps when we get the excess water on our roads and land, but they have the tech knowledge and have to be trusted.
Thank you to all the citizens who have given assistance in time of need.
