Despite the fact that many of them have water in their homes, the evacuated flood victims of the village of Roche Percee seem optimistic.
Many of these evacuees have taken up residence in the make-shift campground located between Bienfait's rinks. Though several families are staying in their own trailers, many of the trailers in the camp have been brought down from Medicine Hat by local volunteers. Residents of the campground have access to the facilities in the rinks and each trailer has been electrified.
Tarpon Energy Services sponsored a fundraising supper in the hockey rink last Wednesday. Evacuees were served a free turkey supper, while members of the community were asked to make donations. The proceeds went to the evacuees.
A fun day for the evacuated kids also took place last Wednesday. The event, which featured bouncy castles, popcorn and face painting, was organized by Lisa Wock and April Ikert, who also paid the extra costs.
Carlyle Pentecostal Assembly donated the bouncy structures and Funtazm Entertainment was on hand for a heavily discounted price to entertain the kids. The Kinsmen Club donated their popcorn machine and the Kinette Club donated their cotton candy machine. McDonald's was also involved, donating toys to the children.
Donations have been easy to find, said Trevor Dutka, one of the many people working hard to assist those staying in the make-shift camp. Many donors are local, though some donations have come from well outside the area.
"We had 20 brand name quilts donated by a lady that makes quilts in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, one for each of the campers we have staying here," he said. "All over the province it has been really awesome."
"Bienfait has been totally freakin' awesome," said Vanda Avery, a resident of Roche Percee whose home was flooded when Rafferty and Boundary reservoirs were opened to 700 cubic metres per second last month. "In fact, there's not even a word to explain how Bienfait has been."
"They've been way more than we ever expected," said Shannon Wallington, whose Roche Percee home was flooded.
"They have been amazing," said Gary Musselman, also of Roche Percee. "The stuff they've done here has been just unbelievable. I couldn't imagine people could do anymore than this. If nothing else, it does show you that there are decent people left in the world."
Regarding the evacuation, Wallington said she and her family was basically able to leave with only their trailer. Musselman, too, was "wiped right out" by the flood waters that took over the village.
When asked if she planned to return to Roche Percee once the flood waters have subsided, Avery said that she doesn't know.
"We know that this is a historical thing that happened and that it may never happen again. But chances are that yes, it will, because the water table is so high," she said.
Wallington felt differently, saying that she and her family would return to Roche Percee if they were allowed to.
"It was nice down there," she said.
"If they could get the dikes fixed up again, I would have no problem rebuilding there again," said Musselman. "No one could have forecast rains of Biblical proportions like this. We could rebuild on top of the hill, but we could get hit with a tornado."
Avery was not shy about laying blame. She acknowledged that the weather was a contributing factor in the flooding, but said she believed that the floods that ravaged Roche Percee resulted mostly because of human error.
"Yes, it was an act of God, maybe. Nature, whatever, that is true," she sad. " But I would say that maybe 70, 75 per cent of it was man. We got destroyed because they didn't do what they should have done in Rafferty letting out water when they did."
"You know what, there's probably lots of blame to go around," said Musselman. "The bottom line to me is that nobody could have foreseen this, this set of circumstances. I think there were things they did that were probably wrong, but I don't know if you're really going to accomplish something by blaming somebody."
The topic of looting has also been on the tongues of many in the area, with rumours circulating of break-in attempts at the flooded homes.
"That's a low-down thing to do," said Musselman. "I don't even know what kind of mindset you have to have to do that kind of crap."
Musselman was quick to point out that while the looting is pathetic, it is less important than the good being done by other people.
"The unfortunate thing is that you do hear so much about the looters," he said. "Those guys are just creeps. You don't hear about the people that are actually doing that good stuff."
Each of the evacuees expressed their thanks for the members of the Bienfait community who have been working to make their days away from their homes easier, and for making life in the campground as positive as possible.
