Jeer: Volunteers absent

Plenty of volunteers turned out to sandbag the Tyler Estates and other neighborhoods threatened by flooding during the snow-melt thaw. But when it came time to volunteer to remove the flood barriers after the danger had passed last week and dump the sandbags for cleanup, only firefighters and other Bemidji city crews showed up. Buses were set to take volunteer crews from the Boys & Girls Club of the Bemidji Area to the cleanup sites, but the buses waited in vain. When the danger is immediate, volunteers receive kudos for stepping forward, but when the more mundane volunteer effort is necessary, they pass.