Batt Praises Flood Of Kindness During Crisis

This year should be remembered for the tremendous outpouring of human kindness following the floods of 1996, Idaho Gov. Phil Batt said Saturday during a stop in North Idaho.

“We rediscovered something about ourselves,” Batt said at the Governor’s Prayer Luncheon at The Coeur d’Alene Resort. That discovery is that our greatest bond is to each other, he said.

He cited the example of non-Indians and Nez Perce tribal members standing shoulder-to-shoulder to fill sand bags and try to save the town of Lapwai. Again and again, people told each other “our thoughts and our prayers go out to you.” In light of the floods, and the tremendous kindness people extended to one another, that saying will always have greater significance, Batt said.

Idaho has much to be thankful for, he said from a podium framed by a banner reading “One Nation Under God.” No one died and no one was seriously injured. Neighboring states did not fare as well.

, DataTimes