'Stuff the Bus' adds 60,000 pounds of help, $4,490 to flood relief effort

Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Casha O'Byrne of Culbertson holds a box of Bibles donated to a Nebraska flood relief effort called "Stuff the Bus" in McCook Friday.
Courtesy photo

McCOOK, Neb. — Nearly 60,000 pounds of donated items filled a semi-trailer — top to bottom, front to back — bound Monday for a distribution center in flooded Northeast Nebraska.

Kids from eight Southwest Nebraska schools "stuffed" their buses with donated flood relief items and bottled water in a challenge project called "Stuff the Bus," sponsored by the Wagner Group of car dealerships in McCook.

The challenge also raised $4,490 in cash donations for the Nebraska Cattlemen's disaster relief and recovery fund.

Nine school bus loads of donated items filled the trailer of a semi truck, to be driven by Levi Whipps of Lazy Y Cattle Co., of Max, to a relief distribution center in Columbus on Monday.
Courtesy photo

"It was a simple idea, one that God took over and blessed abundantly through our area schools and communities," said coordinator Casha O'Byrne, Wagner's marketing manager.

About 85 volunteers and student-volunteers unloaded the contents of nine school buses at Wagner Chevrolet Friday and reloaded a trailer owned by Levi Whipps, of Lazy Y Cattle Co., of Max.

Mead Lumber donated the use of a skid loader and operator Tom Anderson.

"The students worked together, and smiled," Casha said. "They weren't trying to impress anyone. They just wanted to help."

The last tote loaded on the trailer held four Bibles donated by a company in Texas and, Casha said, across they found that had the word "HOPE" written on it.

Chris Wagner and his wife, Annette, (of Wagner Chevrolet Buick and Wagner Ford Toyota) pledged $200 for each school bus that participated, and Jim Allen of Quality Urgent Care met the Wagners' challenge. At the end of the day, each donated $1,800, and Casha counted an additional $890 in cash, checks and gift cards that people handed to her.

Nebraska Cattlemen's disaster relief fund will help cattle producers impacted by the historic cyclone-strength March 13 weather event — high winds, snow, rain and flooding.

Whipps said the trailer was slightly overweight for normal conditions, but that Nebraska Gov. Pete Rickets has temporarily waived weight and length restrictions for trucks involved in flood and blizzard relief efforts in his state.

Participating in "Stuff the Bus" were these schools: Hitchcock County high school and elementary school, Southwest, Maywood, Wauneta-Palisade, Cambridge, Hayes Center, McCook Senior High and St. Patrick's Catholic School in McCook.

Casha said the trailer was unloaded Monday at a distribution center in Columbus. The structure was sold recently as a church, she said, but it will be used as an outreach center for 10 churches serving small area communities during flood recovery.

Casha encouraged people to check out the Wagner Chevrolet Buick Facebook page for a time-lapse video and photographs of "Stuff the Bus" activities on the Chevrolet north lot.

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