On Wednesday, Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker declared a flood emergency in Fargo, a preemptive move aimed at getting federal assistance if the Red River spills out of its banks again this year. Concurrently, the mayor is putting together a sandbagging effort to fill a million sandbags starting Monday.
The phrase, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" comes to mind. While it's probably more fulfilling to volunteer for the sandbagging effort in April when floodwaters threaten homeowners, it's more useful to volunteer now.
Last year, six million sandbags were filled and placed along the Red. Getting one million done now may save more homes than an 11th hour effort later.
The point is, if you're someone who would really like to help the people of Fargo and Moorhead, it's better to do it now. There may not be as many people helping around you, or as many news cameras or people to pat you on the back for doing so, but the work being done now will be so valuable. And that's a pretty good reward.
The Pioneer Journal editorial represents the voice of the newspaper's editorial board. Today's editorial was written by Steve Schulz, editor and publisher.
