FLOOD WATCH 2017: Vernon family grateful to strangers as creek threatens home

VERNON – Vernon resident Shannon Walker’s week from hell was made a little easier thanks to friends, family and complete strangers.

Shannon and her husband Ted live on 20 Street along the normally calm and peaceful BX Creek. Last Friday, May 5, it turned into a raging current.

Shannon says it’s been exhausting, both emotionally and physically, trying to protect the home from rising waters.

“It’s frustrating and helpless. It’s tough watching the water rise and you don’t have much chance to get a hold of it. It’s been overwhelming,” she says.

The Walkers spent all of Thursday night, May 11, building a wall of sandbags around their home, adding to what they already established last Friday when the creek first began to spill.

They’ve had some help from the City of Vernon, which dropped off sand and sandbags. They also have family and friends helping out, some of them taking time off work to do so.

“I can’t say enough about the Vernon community. We’ve had complete strangers come up on their lunch hours and bag. It’s been awesome,” Shannon says.

As of midday on Friday, the family figured they had enough sandbags and didn’t require further assistance from the public — for the time being.

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