George and Kim Withus, Minot
The good and the bad.
The good:
We have had to deal with a lot since the flood. There has been a lot of good done by volunteers. This has shown that people can work together for a common cause and get the job done. I have been very fortunate to have been the recipient of a lot of good. I have had great luck with contractors who have helped me rebuild. My friends who don't hesitate to come over and help with everything that needs to be fixed in our home. One of my worries was the 40-foot pine tree in my backyard. I was afraid that after it died I would have a hard time cutting it down. That was until I ran into a few airmen from Minot Air Force Base.
They were cutting down a pine tree at a friend's house and said when they were done, that they would take a look at mine. When they came over, they took that pine tree down in about 30 minutes. They not only cut it down but cleaned up the yard and stacked all the branches. When I asked them about what they were doing they told me that they were just trying to give back to the community and they just wanted to help. I also learned that another group from their squadron was helping to clean the river. I guess this is just one story about all the volunteer groups that have been helping around Minot this summer, but being ex - Air Force myself this made me feel really good. For this I just want to extend a heartfelt thank you from my family to everyone that helps out.
Now the bad:
There has been some bad things happen to us, too. Not to exclude lack of affordable housing, higher prices for just about everything we buy, and trying to find people to work on your house. The one thing that really made me feel BAD was that at Christ Lutheran Church, a flooded church. Some of the members had been taking pots of flowers to the church and put them out around the church. They had taken care of them for three weeks, only to have them taken by someone. We don't know who did this, probably never will, but it would be nice if they returned them no questions asked.
Minot is still the great city that it was before the flood. We will only be stronger.