[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 83 (Monday, June 16, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S5711]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNITION OF DR. RONALD TESCH'S ASSISTANCE DURING THE FLOODS OF 1997

 Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I want to take this opportunity 
today to recognize the important work of Dr. Ronald Tesch of Brookings, 
SD, 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 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 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.
  Carl Madsen's daughter was one of many Grand Forks individuals who 
escaped rising flood waters in the dead of night, often with only the 
clothes on their back. Her son, who is 10 years old, wears eyeglasses 
and left them behind in their now demolished Grand Forks home. An 
optician, Dr. Ronald Tesch, was kind enough to give the boy an exam, 
new prescription, and eyeglasses all for free since Mr. Madsen's 
daughter had little money left.
  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 individuals like Dr. Ronald Tesch 
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. Dr. Ronald Tesch of 
Brookings, SD, illustrates how the actions of 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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