[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 11, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5544-S5545]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNITION OF LORI RUSSELL AND BARB NAVRISKY'S ASSISTANCE DURING THE 
                             FLOODS OF 1997

 Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I want to take this opportunity 
today to recognize the important work of Lori Russell and Barb Navrisky 
in ongoing flood recovery efforts in the Dakotas.
  Early this year, residents of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South 
Dakota experienced relentless snowstorms and bitterly cold 
temperatures. Snowdrifts as high as buildings, roads with only one lane 
cleared, homes without heat for days, hundreds of thousands of dead 
livestock, and schools closed for a week at a time were commonplace. As 
if surviving the severe winter cold was not challenge enough, residents 
of the Upper Midwest could hardly imagine the extent of damage Mother 
Nature had yet to inflict with a 500-year flood. Record levels on the 
Big Sioux River and Lake Kampeska forced over 5,000 residents of 
Watertown, SD to evacuate their homes and left over one-third of the 
city without sewer and water for 3 weeks. The city of Bruce, SD was 
completely underwater when record low temperatures turned swollen 
streams into sheets of ice.
  The 50,000 residents of Grand Forks, ND and 10,000 residents of East 
Grand Forks, MN were forced to leave their homes and businesses as the 
Red River overwhelmed their cities in April. The devastation was 
astounding; an entire city underwater and a fire that gutted a majority 
of Grand Forks' downtown. Residents of both cities recently were 
allowed to return to what is left of their homes, and the long and 
difficult process of rebuilding shattered lives is just beginning.
  Barb Navrisky lived through the 1972 flash flood that killed hundreds 
of people in Rapid City, SD. She knows what her North Dakota neighbors 
are currently experiencing. Lori Russell knows the devastation all too 
well. Her parents, Eman and Leona Hejlik, live

[[Page S5545]]

in Grand Forks and lost their home in the flood. That's why both Barb 
and Lori mobilized the city of Box Elder, SD and collected clothing, 
cleaning supplies, food, and toys for flood victims in Grand Forks. 
Lori and Barb's relief effort included the mayor of Box Elder, Dave 
Kinser, raising $200 in donations for a Grand Forks resident who lost 
everything. Students from area high schools and elementary schools also 
helped by collecting cleaning supplies and food items.
  While those of us from the Midwest will never forget the destruction 
wrought by this year's floods, I have been heartened to witness 
firsthand and hear accounts of South Dakotans coming together within 
their community to protect homes, farms, and entire towns from rising 
flood waters. The selfless actions of people like Lori Russell and Barb 
Navrisky illustrate the resolve within South Dakotans to help our 
neighbors in times of trouble.
  Mr. President, there is much more to be done to rebuild and repair 
Grand Forks and other impacted communities. Lori Russell and Barb 
Navrisky illustrate how two individuals can bring some relief to the 
victims of this natural disaster, and I ask you to join me in thanking 
them for their selfless efforts.

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