City residents, businesses join to help Flint water crisis

The City of Tecumseh effectively collected 10 pallets of water to help combat the Flint water crisis. Among these pallets were 800 gallon containers and 6,336 bottles of water. The water will be distributed to families in need through Flint food banks, with most being used for drinking water or bathing infants. The water was donated by Tecumseh residents, who dropped off cases and gallons at the Tecumseh Fire Department and Busch’s.

The Tecumseh Economic De-velopment Department came up with the idea to start a collection for Flint after discussing the situation and deciding it was time to take action. Linda Hewlett, City of Tecumseh’s marketing coordinator said the collection was a community wide project. “We are all parents ourselves, and we couldn’t comprehend having such a helpless feeling when it comes to providing fresh water for your children,” Hewlett said.

After bringing up the idea with city manager Dan Swallow, the collection began taking shape. Fire department chief Joe Tuckey offered to let residents drop off bottled water in the lobby of the department. Busch’s donated 50 flats to the drive, while Shelby Simpson, Administrative Services Man-ager, connected with a trucking firm in Blissfield to haul the water to Flint. Along with Busch’s, Jerry’s Market also gave donations. Todd Amstutz, utilities superintendent, helped to haul the water to his department with the help of his crew so they could load it on the truck. The Tecumseh Arbor of Gleaner Life Insurance, with matching funds from the Home Office in Adrian, paid for the shipping expense. The water was delivered to The Food Bank of Eastern Michigan in Flint on February 19.

“It all came together with the help of many people,” Hewlett said. “Children and their families need fresh drinking water. How could you not feel the need to do something?”

Hewlett said the community of Tecumseh is very generous, and has always been willing to come through to help others who need assistance. “From the Hurricane Katrina Relief Collection, to the Dundee Tornado Collection and the annual Adopt-A-Family for the Tecumseh Service Club, Tecumseh residents are there to help,” Hewlett said. “It really makes me proud to be part of such a great community and to call Tecumseh home.”

As for the Flint crisis, Hewlett hopes that the situation will be remedied quickly and permanently. “So many lives have been affected. The city’s hope is that it will not cause long term health issues for their residents,” Hewlett said. “We hope the residents of Flint can resume a normal life, with safe drinking water in the near future.”