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Q-C hands assist Cedar Rapids flood cleanup

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By Terry O’Connell | Sunday, July 6, 2008 9:14 PM CDT | () comments

A front page story in last weeks Quad-City Times featured Chad Pregracke, the founder of Living Lands and Waters, requesting help cleaning up the Cedar River in and around Cedar Rapids. My wife, Linda, signed us up as volunteers. We spent the day there Sunday and we were shocked.

Cedar Rapids has suffered a terrible blow. We really didn’t have any idea the destruction was so widespread and severe. A Cedar Rapids fire captain told me there were more than 1,200 blocks submerged in the water. Emergency assistance people I talked to, including Chad Pregracke, told me it was just like the damage they saw in post-Katrina

New Orleans.

Living Lands and Waters is focused on cleaning up the Cedar River. The debris that ended up in the river as Cedar Rapids homes and business disintegrated is profound.

Chad and his crew were really great to work for, and I promised him I’d make everyone in the Quad-Cities aware of the difficult situation in Cedar Rapids and extend his invitation to you all to take a day and volunteer to help Cedar Rapids and our rivers.

It is truly the kind of job that goes better and more quickly when you have many hands. You may want to encourage a church group or other organization your involved with to pitch in. It’s a good cause.

Terry O’Connell

Davenport

Volunteer

Living Lands & Waters is seeking 20 to 30 people a day to volunteer for Cedar River cleanup. Volunteers must be 18 or older and very able-bodied. individuals or groups may call LL&W at

(309) 236-0725, or go online to

livinglandsandwaters.org.