September 5, 2017 at 3:32 p.m.
Good people are all around
Some would also say that the ability of some people to stick their noses in other people's business is a negative and knowing a person's life story to be a disadvantage, while others consider that good entertainment.
All of that aside, one of the most amazing thing about rural communities is the willingness and ability to come together when needed.
I know of three incredible stories that have all happened within ten miles of my home in the past month.
The first was an accident near Rossville. Two trucks collided head-on. The driver of one vehicle was killed, and his vehicle was on fire. The other truck contained a dad, his two grown sons and his 10-year-old son. The dad and the son who was driving his dad's truck were trapped in the vehicle. The willingness of those who stopped to put themselves in danger was astounding.
One young man came upon the accident within moments and stayed at the driver's side until rescue personnel arrived. Another young man who arrived just a bit later did the same with the dad, literally giving him the shirt off his back to help with the bleeding. At least one person went from car to car looking for fire extinguishers. Several people tried using anything they could find to pry the doors of the truck open. Fluids from the two trucks were flowing into one another in between the vehicle that was on fire and the truck they were trapped in.
The driver could feel the heat from the other truck's flames and asked if there was someway to pull the trucks apart. Fortunately, the dad carried a lot of stuff in his truck and had a logging chain.
Another young man stepped forward and hooked the chain up to his new truck to the trailer behind the family's vehicle. The trailer came off and struck his truck. Without thinking twice he hooked it up again and was able to separate the trucks.
Those who stopped to help at that accident scene until firefighters arrived saved the lives of the two men inside that truck. Although two of the Good Samaritans lived in the same small town as the driver, they didn't know him at all. They risked their safety without a second thought.
The next instance of kindness was for a family just down the road. A young couple with two little kids had their lives change when the dad became paralyzed in a logging accident in May. Within days of the accident, parents at the school and other community members gathered funds to help them cover their immediate expenses, which included traveling to where he was receiving medical care more than an hour away.
Last weekend there was a community fundraiser for the family. Our local 4-H club represented just a few of the many volunteers who created an amazing event. There were more than 350 auction items. There were so many community members gathered at the fairground pavilion that even after they took out the tables and created rows of chairs there were still people standing two and three deep around the perimeter of the building. Some gave their time, some gave money. Everyone was there to help.
Lastly, a neighbor of ours was killed in a farm accident the end of September. He was a dedicated family man, a good farmer and an upright community member. Within two days of his death, friends, family and neighbors gathered to harvest more than 1,100 tons of silage for his family, so they had one less thing to worry about while they were grieving. You can learn more about those who helped with that in this issue of the Dairy Star.
It seems like so often in the news all we hear about is the bad side of human nature. I can personally tell you that there are good people all around us.[[In-content Ad]]
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