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Alex Cabrero reportingOnce again, the town of Wells is the center of attention in eastern Nevada. This time, it wasn't because of an earthquake, although that did have something to do with it.
When Wells residents found out they didn't have enough collective damage to qualify for federal funding, they figured the next best thing was to get their own money for repairs. So today, they held a big fundraiser for the town, and people from all over helped out.
Who said Wells residents had to be sad after the 6.0 earthquake that hit last February? Mike Gerber said, "This is the way you take care of your problems." And there will be no problems if this continues.
Today a big, old-fashioned fundraiser for the town took place. Wells resident Anne Battenfeld said, ‘We don't want the people who have been affected to get lost through the cracks and stuff like that."
Battenfeld brought her family and friends to the Wells firehouse for the auction, the entertainment, and of course, the food. "In a way, it's brought a lot of people closer together. It's a close-knit community as it is," she said.
Not even today's cold weather kept folks away.
Rusty Tybo, the mayor of Wells, said, "I was concerned about that. But it just tells you about the type of people who live here in the area and the hearts they have."
For as much fun as everyone was having at the firehouse, just across the street is a reminder of the damage the quake left behind. A chain link fence runs down 7th Street. There are no plans yet to rebuild what the earthquake left behind. And with aftershocks, like this past Tuesday's 4.0, still hitting town, it's tough to put it all behind.
Anne Battenfeld said, "My little guy was in my husband's arms, and he's been in bed with us quite a few nights since then, to be truthful."
Tammy Myers, a resident of Star Valley, described it as, "A lot of stress. You think they're done, and you're kind of relaxing a little bit, and they just keep coming."
This fundraiser was a chance to show that an earthquake can shake a town apart, but no way can it shake apart its residents. "If anything, we'll go down kicking and screaming," Battenfeld said.
Mayor Tybo advised, "Just take it one day at a time."
Two families are still out of their homes in Wells because of the earthquake. The town is trying to raise a half million dollars to help them and other families with damage to their homes.
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com
