[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 82 (Thursday, June 12, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5633-S5634]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNITION OF CHUCK TINANT'S ASSISTANCE DURING THE FLOODS OF 1997

 Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I want to take this opportunity 
today to recognize the important work of Chuck Tinant 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 three weeks. The city of Bruce, SD, 
was completely under water 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 under water 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.
  As chairman of the Dakota Disaster Relief Fund, Chuck Tinant has been 
spearheading volunteer efforts on behalf of the Rapid City Chamber of 
Commerce. Through Chuck's coordination, the relief fund has raised over 
$78,000 for flood victims. In addition, Chuck helped organize efforts 
by students from area high schools and elementary schools, local 
businesses, and concerned individuals to collect and ship cleaning 
supplies, toys, furniture, school books, and food items to Grand Forks.
  While those of us from the Midwest will never forget the destruction 
wrought by this year's 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 rising flood 
waters. The selfless actions of people like Chuck Tinant illustrates 
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

[[Page S5634]]

Forks and other impacted communities. Chuck Tinant illustrates how an 
individual can bring some relief to the victims of this natural 
disaster, and I ask you to join me in thanking him for his selfless 
efforts.

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