Benefactor donates car to Hermosa flood victims

Roland Gray called Salvation Army to offer his help

By Journal staff | Thursday, August 30, 2007

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A retired Rapid City man has donated his car to a Hermosa family who lost all their vehicles in the Aug. 17 flood.

Roland Gray, a former longtime fire chief at Ellsworth Air Force Base, donated his 1997 Chrysler Concorde on Wednesday to Carlos and Charlotte Fenhaus of Hermosa.

The Fenhauses lost their motor home, their van and their home to the raging floodwaters of Battle Creek on the night of Aug. 17, according to Dan Holsworth, a Hermosa Town Board member who is heading follow-up relief efforts in Hermosa.

Their house, which was west of the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad tracks, was pushed off its foundation and had three feet of water in it, Holsworth said.

Fenhaus, who is retired, also lost all of his tools in the flood. The Fenhauses are staying with a son in Rapid City.

Holsworth called Gray's donation "awesome." The Chrysler has only 30,000 miles on it, he said.

Gray had called the Salvation Army offering to donate his car to a flood victim, and Holsworth contacted Gray.

Holsworth then notified the Fenhauses they would be getting Gray's car. "They just broke down. They could not believe it," he said. "It's part of the healing of getting Hermosa back together again."

Holsworth said the town of Hermosa has a low budget and limited resources to help victims of the flood, which damaged about 50 homes.

He said the long-term recovery committee he heads is now working on figuring out how to coordinate volunteer efforts to assist other Hermosa residents who still need help.

A disaster declaration by the Small Business Administration will provide a big boost, Holsworth said, by offering low-interest loans.

Meanwhile, the Hermosa Disaster Recovery Center was set to close at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Since opening on Aug. 21, the center assisted more than 100 people in Custer County. Additionally, the South Dakota Department of Social Services provided emergency food and clothing to more than 90 people.

The Hermosa Long-Term Recovery Committee will continue to help flood-impacted people through the recovery effort.  Flood victims with unmet needs are encouraged to call the Long-Term Recovery Committee at Our Saviors Lutheran Church at 255-4662.