Yesterday I went into downtown Talent to pick up my mail at the Post Office. As I came down Colver Road to make the turn onto Talent Avenue I saw buckets of sunflowers lining both sides of the street. On their sides were painted the word Hope and yellow and blue hearts. One of the overwhelming positives in all this is the outpouring of love and community spirit we are seeing.
There was a young man from Phoenix High school who started passing out bottles of water and ended up providing breakfast for evacuees on Sunday morning. His home was spared but many of his friends had lost theirs. It is estimated that 80% of children in the Phoenix elementary school lost their homes and 50% of those at Talent Elementary.
One of the local TV stations has started a Southern Oregon Strong campaign to support the local Red Cross. They have already raised $80,000. Go fund me sites are popping up on Facebook right and left. Evacuation centers have had to tell people to stop bringing donations. The loss is great but so are the hearts of the local community.
I also took a walk around downtown Talent to assess both the losses and the businesses left standing (more on that tomorrow). I came across this sign in front of Ray’s supermarket. It may have been there before the fire but is certainly more appropriate than ever now.
Still no word on opening our neighborhood but they say they are doing all they can to make it safe for us to return home.