[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 83 (Monday, June 16, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S5712]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNITION OF SOUTH DAKOTA RURAL LETTER CARRIERS DURING THE FLOODS OF 
                                  1997

 Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I want to take this opportunity 
today to recognize the important work of South Dakota rural letter 
carriers in providing mail service to rural residents despite record 
flooding and washed-out roads.
  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 average rural mail route is 95 miles long in South Dakota, 
compared to 35 miles in the rest of the country. This spring's flooding 
added to that distance as a number of Federal, State, and county roads 
were submerged under running water. I have received numerous reports of 
Postal Service employees taking extraordinary steps to provide service 
to their fellow South Dakotans during this disaster. Often, this 
service has been provided at their own expense.
  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 helping to restore the 
livelihood of their community. The selfless actions of individuals like 
the South Dakota rural letter carriers 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 
impacted communities. The South Dakota rural letter carriers 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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