Bellevue, Iowa

This past week, my heart has definitely been back "home."

I grew up in small town Iowa, with several neighboring small towns where everyone literally knew everyone.

Last Sunday, July 4th, my Facebook updates were flooded with links spreading the news of a parade tragedy in a nearby town called Bellevue. Apparently a pair of horses that were pulling a family in a buggy/carriage were spooked and took off from the parade route onto the sidewalk lined with families and small children. 24 were reported injured at the time.

I spent most of that day in shock and prayer for that community.

A few days later, a friend of mine who is in law enforcement and grew up in Bellevue, posted a link to the actual dispatch call from this tragedy. I sat in bed Tuesday night listening to the familiar voice of the dispatcher and the officers that were frantically trying to work at getting EMS where they needed to be. It brought tears to my eyes. My friend added on his link, "Ever get a chance...thank a dispatcher. Nice job Bellevue and Bob Lane and crew at Maquoketa Law Center."

Most people wouldn't know this, because it isn't typical in this day and age for Emergency Response/Dispatching to be done in one location, for several communities. Maquoketa PD was practically a second home for me when I was in my early 20s. I was working in the small town, and dated one of the men in blue for several years. He was also from the town of Bellevue. The dispatcher in Maquoketa is responsible for communication between at least five small towns, as well as the county. He is the link between the PD, FD and EMS. And he typically works his shifts solo. That's a lot of weight to carry in the midst of a tragedy...The dispatcher whose voice I heard this week, was the very same dispatcher 17 years ago.

Throughout the week I searched on the internet for news stories reporting on the accident. KCRG TV did a great job at keeping people informed and covering the community well.

As I thought about Bellevue, I thought about what a great community it is and has always been. Its population consists mainly of a handful of families, and that's exactly what the town is. One big family. Nestled along the Mississippi River, it is one of the most beautiful places in the state of Iowa. I always enjoyed visiting whether it be for a walk along the river, or lunch with my grandma. If I could bottle up this small town and place it anywhere, I would want to scatter it everywhere!

Later on in the week, I noticed a Facebook page set up specifically for this unfortunate event. It listed all of those who were injured which included a few names that I actually knew.

Below is a link to one of the news reports. As I watched it I was truly touched as I recalled what small town life is truly about...

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Bellevue-Mayor-Medical-Response-was-Amazing-97901619.html

"The human touch outweighs anything else in Bellevue." What a statement. What a motto we all should live by. Can you stop for a minute and imagine what our world would be like if we spent every day of our lives living by this simple truth?

What an honor, that I can say I'm from a small town. You hear some people complain that small towns mean that everyone knows everyone's business, and yet at the end of the day, small towns pull together like no one else does. And that is what truly matters in the end.