Add volunteers to your thankful list this Thursday

A neighbor in trouble seems to bring out the best in small-town Nebraska, and Sunday morning's fire in Cambridge was no exception.

Someone who stopped at a convenience store about 5:30 a.m. turned in the fire, and volunteers from at least seven neighboring towns were on the scene or on the way within a few minutes to help out Cambridge volunteers.

Don Moore, president and CEO of First Central Bank, assured customers that their accounts were safe, and planned to have temporary offices set up in the Cambridge Community Center today.

He has high praise for the firefighters, as well as restaurants that opened to keep crews supplied with coffee and pizza, as well as many others who stepped up to help.

We tend to take that volunteer spirit for granted, but we shouldn't. It's a sacrifice to have a volunteer firefighter in the family, we owe both them and their families a debt of gratitude for being trained and equipped to respond when their neighbors need them most.

People who are able and willing to serve as firefighters and EMTs are in short supply in many rural communities, and they are one more item to add to our "thankful" list this Thanksgiving week. While we're at it, let's tell them in person when we get the chance.