Community turns out for flooding mitigation effort

IC photo/Marshall Palm

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Emily Florez and her 3-year-old son were among those who filled sandbags at the April 22 flooding mitigation effort at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Cottonwood Heights.

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — The 2023 winter season brought epic snow totals to the Utah mountains, with more moisture possible in the next few weeks. With record snowmelt looming, so are fears of flooding, leading to various mitigation efforts.

Among these efforts was one on April 22 that saw a diverse group work side by side filling sandbags in the neighboring parking lots of Saint Thomas More Catholic Church and the Brighton LDS Stake Center. Members of both faiths and others, including local Presbyterians, Methodists and neighbors, filled more than 6,000 sandbags for use. About 100 volunteers filled the white bags, tied them and stacked them on pallets supplied by the City of Cottonwood Heights.

Father John Evans, St. Thomas More pastor, was thrilled with the turnout.

“We are combining our efforts with our LDS neighbors and other area churches and the general public to fill 6,000 sandbags today, and we’ll have pizza lunch as a thank you to everybody,” he said.

Taking a break from his efforts, Greg Hoepfner smiled and leaned on his shovel against the backdrop of the snow-covered mountains of Big Cottonwood Canyon.  “I’ve just seen all of the flooding on TV and thought that it would be worth helping out,” he said.

Cindy Crass recalled the flooding of 1983, which affected many parts of the state, including Salt Lake City. “It was the year my daughter was born,” she said. “The creeks filled with debris and caught under the bridges and the flooding was all over.”

Even young community members got involved; Emily Florez orchestrated the efforts of her children Joaquin, age 3, preschooler Frankee and third-grader Fay.

“They may look like they study the Three Stooges’ movies with those shovel handles, but they love to help,” Florez said. “We like to help those in need, because we would hope for the same.”

The Knights of Columbus Council #11479 orchestrated the effort. Grand Knight Chris Lentz praised the group effort. “It is great to have the collaboration between the stake house and Saint Thomas More come together for this service event,” he said. “It’s going to make a big difference in a lot of people’s lives just because if the flooding does come, we are going to be very well prepared for it.”