[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 12 (Friday, January 20, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H460]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


          THE COURAGEOUS RESPONSE TO THE FLOODS IN CALIFORNIA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Linder). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Woolsey] is recognized for 
5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the residents of 
Sonoma and Marin Counties in California for their courageous response 
to the floods which ravaged our communities and much of California last 
week. Law enforcement, county workers, emergency and rescue crews, and 
the National Guard worked double duty. Businesses, like the Bank of 
America and Safeway, donated space, clothing, and food, and finally 
volunteers and neighbors came together in a breathtaking effort to 
protect homes, streets, stores, and farms, and, most importantly, to 
save lives.
  Mr. Speaker, nobody better exemplifies the spirit of the people of 
any district than John Alpin, a Red Cross volunteer and manager of the 
Sebastopol emergency shelter. John spent his first morning away from 
work after several 24-hour workdays setting up another shelter in Santa 
Rosa.
  Mr. Speaker, the floodwaters may have risen quickly in my district in 
northern California, but they could not outpace the rapid and generous 
response of the brave people of Sonoma and Marin Counties.

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