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Charles City FFA students hit the road to help flood-ravaged Nebraska farm

Charles City FFA students hit the road to help flood-ravaged Nebraska farm
Ten Charles City FFA students and seven more from Rudd-Rockford Marble Rock loaded up the vans on Thursday evening and headed out to Nebraska to do some good. (Press photo James Grob.)

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

Ten Charles City FFA students and seven more from Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock loaded up the vans on Thursday evening and headed out to Nebraska to do some good.

“We’re just going to go out and help clean up,” said Charles City FFA advisor Bret Spurgin, who, along with Jim Lundberg and RRMR FFA advisor Hannah Hartman, will lead the 17 FFA students and six adults to help provide flood relief for a family in Nebraska.

“I really think this is a good opportunity for us to go help a neighbor in need,” said Charles City junior Lauren Connell, an FFA officer. “We’re really grateful that we have this opportunity.”

Charles City students joining Connell are Lynn Hoeft, Anna Krumwiede, Marissa Daniels, Justin Heyer, Bronson Forsyth, Joe Heidebrink, Max Deeter, Dan Laube and Jacob White.
RRMR students attending are Jayden Jorgenson, Maggie Hain, Mac LaCoste, Dawson Schreiver, Sawyer Salisbury, Trey Norby and Nate Rankin.

The group will be traveling to Schuyler, Nebraska, to assist in recovery efforts with Drew Wolfe. Wolfe’s cattle and farming operation has been devastated by the recent flooding along the Missouri River, to the point many of his feedlots have been lost and cattle are still stranded.

The students will arrive in Schuyler Friday afternoon, and after a weekend of hard work, cleanup and whatever else they can do to help, will return home Sunday and will be back in class Monday morning.

Also traveling with the group is Kellen Hevican of KCHA radio, who is from Nebraska and is a friend of the Wolfe family. Matt Hoeft from the local cattleman’s association will be along as well.

“When I heard about it, I got ahold of Jim (Lundberg) right away and said, if you need an adult to go help out, chaperone, or whatever, I’ll be more than happy to volunteer,” Hoeft said. “This is important. It’s a cattleman thing, or a farmer thing — you help each other out.”

Hoeft said he is concerned about what he and the students are going to find when they arrive.

“I’ve got mixed emotions. I really think the devastation is really going to overwhelm us when we get out there,” he said. “We really don’t know a lot about what we’re in for, but I think for me, as a farmer, it’s going to be heartbreaking.”

Connell said the chance to help others who need it is always rewarding.

“I’ve been on many mission trips before, to Kentucky and Wisconsin, and you kind of just get hooked after you see the impact that you can have on other people,” she said.

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