Let’s all do something to move city forward

Ron Corbett took the oath of office Jan. 2. Mayor Corbett vows to reaffirm our city's commitment to those Cedar Rapidians who are enduring a calamity of a lifetime.

I have ceased to be angry with friends and relatives who live elsewhere who assume that our fair city has recovered. The government at all levels clanks forward with proposals from consultants and rejections from the Army Corps of Engineers.

It is easy to look at blueprints and statistics and forget about the square mile after square mile of our city that sits vacant. It is also uplifting to see those who have rebuilt and are fighting the good fight.

We took our grandkids from Minneapolis to see a Christmas display on Mallory Street in the Czech area that personifies the resolute nature of our citizens, staring disaster in the face and vowing to come back.

A lot of the people directly affected feel alone and neglected. They have every right to feel that way.

It is our job to support the new administration and move forward with a renewed effort to stop the drifting that had become part of our city's pathology long before the flood of 2008. Those affected directly by the flood have had to.

I think everyone needs to do something that helps all people in our community feel secure that we are moving forward and that a lending hand is there to get this process in a higher gear.

Jack Pilling

Cedar Rapids