Protect the investment people have made so far

I get chills when I look at pictures of my hometown from the flood of 2008 or when I think about looking down on the floodwaters while driving on Interstate 380 then and wondering when we were going to reach an area that wasn't flooded. All of those sandbags placed along homes and businesses were nothing more than a speed bump for the floodwaters.

I feel an enormous pride in my hometown with how the community rallied to get back on our feet. I have no doubt our community would rise to the occasion again, but why test the waters?

We have a chance to protect the hard recovery work completed since 2008. We need to protect the investment we have made in our community by extending the 1-cent sales tax to construct a flood mitigation system that will protect both sides of our wonderful community.

Let's pass this vote so that we don't have to worry every summer when the river levels start to increase and instead can focus on all of the exciting things happening in our community. Vote “yes” on Tuesday.

Robb Loftsgard

Marion