Hope – From Mayor Peter Robb,District of Hope:
We have just come through one of, if not our largest community emergency situation in recent memory. Our community came together as I knew it would.
As your Mayor, I’m very proud of how many members of our community stepped up to help us in so many ways. From housing, feeding, and giving comfort to over 1200 unexpected guests, you made all the difference. A very special thanks needs to be made to those who opened up their homes, volunteered their time to attend and work at the Reception Centres, and donated items like bedding, food, etc. We should all be very proud of their community spirit and concern for the public good. However, support continues to be needed as we still have a significant number of guests who cannot yet go home.
We are not in a dire situation. Despite some road and water course erosion, seepage, and overland flooding in low level areas, there were no major infrastructure failures. Fortunately, we did not declare a local state of emergency as we did not need to order evacuations. The District is now in the recovery stage of this event. We are working diligently and effectively with the Federal and Provincial Governments, along with community organizations to get back to normal and establish travel back into and out of Hope. It is highly evident that other hard hit communities need Provincial and other resources more than we do.
There are so many organizations that require thanks and I apologize in advance if I miss a few.
These include:
School Division 78 – their administration, staff and families
District of Hope staff and their families
Our faith community
CN Rail along with VIA Rail
Trans Mountain along with their contractor Kiewit Emil Anderson Construction
Hope Fire Department
RCMPHope Search and Rescue
Local businesses
Local service clubs
Appreciation to all who helped, and continue to do so, never seems to be enough. When you reflect on what the community just experienced, my hope is that you appreciate your neighbours and this community even more.
