Athens, Penn., Flood Heroes, Part 1

FIRST PERSON | There are so many good stories of people in the Valley helping each other. I wanted to take the time to acknowledge some of them. The great flood of 2011 brought out the best in our hard-hit communities, and Facebook played a huge part in telling tales of heroism. All of these stories are coming via Facebook.

First up, Paul Covey is a volunteer fireman for Athens Township. He is a personal friend of mine, so of course he is on my list. Paul was at the fire hall during the flood and kept us all up to date on what was occurring through his status updates. When I saw his post that 3 feet of water or more would be in town Thursday morning, I began to safeguard my home. I made plans to get out of town, like many others.

It's now Monday and Paul is still posting status updates about recovery and where to drop off donations. He is doing a fine job at keeping all of us in the loop. Thanks Paul.

Countless others are helping out as well in the fire hall doing what they could to help the flood victims who were sheltered there. Some remain sheltered there. I am planning on going there myself later today to see what I can do to help. I will be wearing a purple Yahoo! Contributor shirt; feel free to give me your story.

Countless people re-posted a message on Facebook about a dog running on the Sayre Levee. The river lay on one side of the levee and water split over this levee on one end, filling the houses next to the levee. Well, this is one example of how the biggest social networking site worked like a charm.

The dog, Jupiter, a boxer, was found by a couple in Sayre. They sheltered the dog at their home. Jupiter made it home to his rightful owners because people shared that post. The boxer had been dog-napped from his home a month prior to the floods. His parents, Faith and Ricky Lafitz of Nichols, N.Y., had lost nearly everything in this recent flood but their dog was returned to them.

This is a warm fuzzy moment that needed to be shared. I personally know Faith and Ricky and I assure you Jupiter is part of the family there.

Another unsung hero is Mary Elizabeth Strope, who is originally from Athens but now living in Elmira. This 15-year-old is doing everything in her power to help the people in her hometown. She is collecting items for flood victims and babysitting all she can to earn enough money to she can provide sandwiches, cupcakes and drinks for those volunteers doing clean up in downtown.

Richard Allard is a man who stepped up to the plate and helped a family get belongings out of their flood-ravaged home. Allard had an injured back but still helped in a huge way. Kelly Talada is grateful for the help given to her son and his family.

Richard Kithcart of Athens did what he had to do, including walking in water up to his neck to save his wife Rachel and two children, who were trapped in the second floor apartment.