Our Viewpoint

During last month's windstorm, we saw neighbors stepping up to help neighbors. No questions asked, people just came together to help clean up our county after this devastating storm knocked out power and damaged homes and businesses.

That sense of community was nice to see. With this storm came a feeling of belonging. Sanders County is 100 miles long, but in that week after the storm there was no distance. We were one community helping each other and literally weathering the storm.

We see examples of closeknit communities here and there. When residents come together to clean up Trout Creek Park before the Huckleberry Festival, or in the cleanup efforts of Beatification Days in Thompson Falls each year. We see when someone is in need, such as after a fire, that residents come together. There are fundraisers and donations gathered to help each other.

That sense of community needs to be applied to everything we do together. Not just after a storm or a disaster or at these moments when you know you'll be needed. In our everyday lives, we need to come together and be good neighbors. We need to be civil to each other and work to make our communities better, not just when it's an emergency.

We're thankful for all those volunteers and neighbors who step up when they are needed, and even when we didn't think we need help.