[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 22879]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           MISSISSIPPI FLOODS

                                 missour
                                 i_____
                                 

                         HON. KENNY C. HULSHOF

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 26, 2008

  Mr. HULSHOF. Madam Speaker, when standing at the tops of the levees 
overlooking the Mississippi River, the mind's eye can still recall the 
army of sandbags atop the dirt and sand. You can still remember the 
smell of diesel fumes from the drainage pumps sending water out over 
the levee walls this summer. Thankfully, after the waters rose and 
fell, the sun shines again in my district. The floods are by no means 
forgotten. Winfield even today is still recovering from levee breaks, 
and LaGrange, Clarksville and Louisiana are still disposing of debris 
left behind throughout their towns. However, the signs of water lines 
against levees and unprotected structures mean lives are moving toward 
normalcy. After weeks of fighting floodwaters this summer, Jeff 
McReynolds gets to see his wife and baby at night, and Mark Campbell 
eats meals at home. In short, Northeast Missouri is beginning to 
recognize normal again.
  Growing up in the shadow of Mississippi River levees, I know the 
stress and anguish a flood brings. I also know that those who sandbag 
levees to save their neighbor's home or farm are some of the biggest 
heroes we have in Missouri. So, with that said, let me now honor Canton 
Emergency Services Director Jeff McReynolds; Hannibal's Emergency 
Services Director John Hark; LaGrange City Administrator Mark Campbell; 
Alexandria Mayor Bob Davis; West Quincy's Roger Sutter and Norman 
Haerr; Louisiana Mayor Don Giltner; LaGrange City Administrator Mark 
Campbell; Lewis County Emergency Manager David Keith; Des Moines River 
Drainage District Chairman John Winkleman; Louisiana City Administrator 
Bob Jenne; Pike County Emergency Manager Al Murry; Marion County 
Drainage District Commissioner Brent Hoerr; South River Drainage 
District Commissioner David Bleigh; Gregory Landing Drainage District 
Commissioner Kent Leftwich; and Clarksville Mayor JoAnne Smiley for 
leading the efforts to protect their hometowns. I also thank Colonel 
Setliff and Colonel Sinkler of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. And, 
finally, I thank every citizen, National Guard soldier and government 
official that helped saved our towns. These men and women are all true 
heroes.
  There is also sadness in Missouri, for not all of our levees along 
the Mississippi River held. In addition to the tragic flooding in Iowa 
and Illinois, many areas of Lincoln County saw levees breached, and the 
air filled with news choppers that captured images of the flooding. 
This flooding has a profound effect on everyone who lives or works near 
the river because once you lose a crop or are forced to rebuild a 
house, you will always be able to empathize with those who find water 
where a home or farm should be.
  And just as friends, neighbors and perfect strangers helped shore up 
Clarksville, Canton and West Quincy's levees, we Missourians helped 
Iowans, Illinoisans and our brothers and sisters elsewhere in Missouri 
rebuild their lives this summer and now into this fall. Communities up 
and down the Mississippi River have exhausted themselves and their 
resources to fight this flood.
  To truly honor their service, we must continue to ensure that FEMA 
and our other federal agencies and resources are committed to the cause 
of recovery from this and future disasters. We will remain diligent in 
this effort, for to do otherwise would cheapen the work that the 
thousands of volunteers in my district and elsewhere in Missouri put 
forward on this effort. I could not look JoAnne Smiley and all our 
other volunteers and coordinators in the face without making this 
commitment, for this is what their commitment deserves and requires.

                          ____________________