Beatrice Police officer collecting supplies for farmers affected by flooding

The devastation left behind by last month’s flooding is still all too evident in Verdigre, Nebraska.

Flooded pastures, massive ice chunks, and debris stretch as far as the eye can see.

Nearly four hours south, a Beatrice police officer is hoping to provide some much needed relief to the tiny village.

“What’s hard to hear is knowing your great, great, great grandpa took an axe knocked off a tree limb, and made the first fence post. That’s the hardest is knowing that’s gone now. To everyone else it’s a fence post, but to us it’s the hard work, the years, the four generations, of putting that up,” Officer Joe McCormick, said.

As a fellow farmer, McCormick knows the hardest part for many is accepting the family history that flood waters swept away.

McCormick and his wife wanted to help, so they’ve focused their efforts on farmers in Verdigre.

While donations for everyday needs have been pouring in, farmers are in desperate need of equipment.

“They’re just begging for a simple three dollar pair of pliers because there’s not a pair of pliers to be found anywhere. Entire tool sheds have been wiped out completely; the local store has been wiped out.”

They’ve been collecting donations at the Beatrice Police Department, the Tractor Supply on Highway 77, and monetary donations at Pinnacle Bank on Court Street in Beatrice.

Fencing supplies is the greatest need along with tools and feed for horses and cattle.

McCormick and his wife plan on rounding up all the donations on Saturday and heading to Verdigre on Sunday.

He says they’ve received support from across the state.

“It’s just been outstanding how everyone has come together and actually traveling to help me to travel up there to drop stuff off.”

If you would like to donate, McCormick will be at Tractor Supply in Beatrice until 6 p.m. Wednesday night.

Otherwise monetary donations can be dropped off at Pinnacle Bank on Court Street in Beatrice until Friday and items can be dropped off at the Beatrice Police Department until Saturday.