To the editor:

Yooper Strong is a mantra that was well circulated after the Father’s Day flood and represented camaraderie amongst residents. My family, along with many other locals, suffered heavy losses during that catastrophe. This level of natural disaster hadn’t been seen before in the Copper Country; it was unstoppable and unrelenting. Residents reached out to each other. Strangers showed up in my yard and offered their help. The Portage Fund’s aid was more than appreciated; as was the National Guard’s, local law enforcement’s and first responders’. I can’t formulate the words to say a big enough thank you to everyone that contributed to our recovery, including coworkers and friends. We helped each other. That’s Yooper Strong.

What the Houghton County Road Commission did to Cole’s Creek residents was not a natural disaster. The decision to rip out over 200 feet of water lines was made out of convenience and executed without notice to residents. It has been over a month since myself, a school teacher, and my husband, an HVAC tech, have not had running water in our home. My neighbors, including a nurse, also do not have water to wash their hands or their clothes. Fresh well water, drinking or otherwise, was ripped out of our community without any notice. There is a global pandemic happening and we are trying to survive. We have all been forced to dig our own wells; were we going to do that anyway at some point? Yes, of course! But now we have been forced to face that cost without warning and right before winter months are upon us. If our home was provided notice of the interruption, please, show me documentation of what was sent to ourselves and the other homes in our community. We are still actively recovering from flood damage and the HCRC has made that process even more difficult than it already had been. We’re not looking for handouts but an apology is needed. So, Houghton County Road Commission, I challenge you to be Yooper Strong and own up to the actions you took.