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Aug 9, 2008 6:59 pm US/Central
Volunteer Program Brings More Aid To Hugo Cleanup
HUGO, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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The volunteers are part of a new program called "Lowe's Heroes." The employees came from the Oak Park Heights, West St. Paul, Coon Rapids, Maple Grove, Rogers and Blaine stores.
CBS
It's been more than two months since a deadly tornado ripped though the town of Hugo, destroying and damaging dozens of homes. While the neighborhoods hardest hit are working hard to rebuild, there are still some tough spots that need to be cleaned.
On Saturday, 60 volunteers from local Lowe's stores trudged through the woods and swamps in Hugo to pick up the pieces of what's left. They had to wait until MnDOT came through to drag out the big debris from the ponds. MnDOT couldn't start until all of the families' properties had been cleaned.
The volunteers are part of a new program called "Lowe's Heroes." The employees came from the Oak Park Heights, West St. Paul, Coon Rapids, Maple Grove, Rogers and Blaine stores.
"It's a rebuild for them. It's going to take a long time. It's nice for them to see that we still care," said Marcy Weber, a Lowe's administrative manager.
Nate Ehalt, Hugo's long-term disaster recovery coordinator, said he'd been planning for this last group of volunteers since last month.
"They knew we were going to need that help two, three, four months down the road and now we're getting it," he said.
Ehalt said while some families haven't started to rebuild because of problems with their insurance companies, almost everyone has contractors coming in soon.
Jason Akins had to tear down their entire home. On Saturday, he and his family postponed their trip to Valleyfair to help the volunteers.
He said they are cleaning up the spots that would have taken him years to get to.
"I just want to get prepared for the next phase of our life," he said.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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