[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 82 (Thursday, June 12, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S5632]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNITION OF THE McCOOK COUNTY SEARCH AND RESCUE UNIT'S ASSISTANCE 
                  DURING THE NATURAL DISASTERS OF 1997

 Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I want to take this opportunity 
today to recognize the important work of the McCook County Search and 
Rescue Unit in ongoing disaster recovery efforts in South Dakota.
  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.
  At the height of the snowstorms in South Dakota, the individuals of 
the McCook County Search and Rescue Unit donated over 480 manhours in a 
3-day period driving at 3 miles per hour to 4 miles per hour in zero 
visibility. Wind gusts of 40 miles per hour dropped the temperature to 
nearly 70 degrees below zero as the individuals followed snow plows for 
263 miles to rescue families without heat and stranded motorists from 
all over the county.
  While those of us from the Midwest will never forget the destruction 
wrought by this year's snowstorms and floods, I have been heartened to 
witness first-hand and hear accounts of South Dakotans coming together 
within their community to protect homes, farms, and entire towns from 
vicious winter weather and rising flood waters. The selfless actions of 
the McCook County Search and Rescue Unit 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 
our impacted communities. The individuals at the McCook County Search 
and Rescue Unit illustrate how the actions of a community 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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