A.D. Ibarra

-Eagle Pass

You don't really have a sense of the damage which was sustained by the victims of flooding in and around the Elm Creek area until you see it first hand.

As you look all around the Dalia Street and Rosa Street area of the residential district, you can see the piles of debris which in most cases used to be the living room set which was the central location for all family gatherings, appliances which used to cook and preserve the family's food, as well as the furniture which used to hold their clothing and even their beds and mattresses are strewn outside their homes.

Literally everything inside these homes was left unusable and destroyed by flood waters flowing freely to the homes residents were kept out of for at least two days as rescue crews and first responders continued to try and sort out during the wake of the storm.

You look at families in various stages of clean-up and attempting to air out items they hope to be able to salvage as crews of state officials, electrical teams from AEP, volunteers and family members deal with the sweltering heat and humidity which makes relief efforts that much more difficult here as it seems as though summer has come one day early here on the outskirts of Maverick County.

Becky Ballou and Mission: Border Hope Board Members Peggy Stock and Nancy Johnson were on hand on Thursday to welcome Robin Miller, General Manager of the Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino and Donald Spaulding of the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas who made a $50,000.00 donation to relief efforts which will go directly to families directly affected by the torrential rains and flooding on Friday and Saturday.

"The tribe sees the damage and they are very empathetic about the plight of these people, they can't understand, but they want to help, so they're making a donation of $50,000.00 to Mission: Border Hope to help the people directly affected by these storms," stated Spaulding on behalf of the KTTT.

"I'm here with members of our Board of Directors and we know the Kickapoo Tribe of Texas are doing some wonderful things for their people," stated Ballou who was overwhelmed by the show of support exemplified by the KTTT on this day, "We've been working with many outreach groups, people who have come to our community, who swing hammers and man saws so we'll be able to buy materials and furniture for these people."

Peggy Stock added to Ballou's comments by thanking Miller and Spaulding for their generosity by saying, "We're so honored that you're trusting us to do this, but rest assured, these funds will definitely go to this great cause and to these people who so desperately need it at this time."