It is three weeks since the rains of Canada Day created the worst flooding in the history of Yorkton leaving the national birthday of 2010 indelibly marked in the collective minds of this city's residents.
Everyone has a story of the flood. It is estimated about 60 per cent of homes in the city were impacted either by sewer back-up, or seepage. That is a huge number in a community where flooding is at best a rarity, and never to the extent seen July 1.
For some the water was held at bay enough to do only minor damage. In other cases the water and sewer back-up combined to devastate homes, a few to the point of being condemned, and other requiring potentially months of work to make them habitable again.
In the end, that is the overriding concern for the city, the families displaced from their homes for an extended period of time.
Housing, especially for low income families, has been in short supply in Yorkton for some time.
It has been an issue raised by Parkland College in regards to student housing, and one of concern for SIGN which has been working to find a way to create new affordable housing in the city.
However, new housing, even if the dollars were available today, which they are not, would take time to build, and family are displaced now.
Temporary housing in SIGN On Broadway is a good interim measure, but it is reasonable that what are essentially hotel rooms, be considered medium term housing?
That is an issue which the three levels of government need to address sooner than later.To their credit, Yorkton Mayor James Wilson and Premier Brad Wall have both showed concern for the situation here.
Wilson had water in his own home, but was out talking to residents as early as the morning after the flood trying to allay fears and concerns.
Wall has made three stops in the city since the flooding, and that at least lets us know the troubles here are on the provincial agenda.
The federal government needs to step up to the table now, although we are all aware of the slight of the city by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Hopefully our MP Garry Breitkreuz has enough influence in Ottawa to overcome his leader's apparent disinterest to bring some federal dollars to Yorkton to address the flood's after effects.
The other element of the flood which bears mentioning is how its aftermath brought out the best and worst in people.
The best could be seen in the efforts of organizations such as the Canadian Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the way the City of Yorkton worked to meet needs, the way individuals helped others through the worst of the flood.
Of course there are stories of those who looked to loot from damaged homes, of those taking items thrown away by one family to try and claim it as their's on some insurance form. It is a sad comment of society that such an element exists, but such pitiful individuals do, and that includes in our city.
For the most part though, Yorkton as a community showed its most noble side, coming together to face the challenges Mother Nature set against out city. We should be collectively proud of what we did in the face of adversity.
