Claxton, Georgia Fire Chief Harold Rogers and Hagan, Georgia Police Chief Dale Kirkland presented the Manning Police Department and the City of Manning Friday with supplies gathered from their forces.
"We talked about donating to flood victims, and I contacted Chief Rogers," Kirkland said. "We wanted to get as much stuff as we could for a small town. Our towns are separate, but we're close to one another and we work well together."
Hagan, Kirkland said, has about 1,000 residents, a little bigger than Turbeville. Clayton, Rogers said, has about 4,000, making it about the size of Manning.
"We are in the same county," Rogers said, noting their location in Evans County, Georgia. "We just wanted to help a place that was about our size."
Kirkland said that "large towns typically get all the donations."
"They get stuff, so we wanted to help folks who maybe weren't in that kind of position to get as many donations," he said.
Kirkland said the youth pastor at his home church is from small-town South Carolina.
"(The youth pastor's) girlfriend also came through Manning the other day, before all this started," Kirkland said.
After choosing Manning, Kirkland got in touch with Manning Police Officer Sonia Daniels, and "things fell into place," he said.
Rogers said donations from the two Georgia towns included bottled water, cleaning supplies and canned food.
"Most of it was canned food," he said.
Manning Mayor Julia Nelson said the items donated from Georgia would not be distributed through the Disaster Relief Distribution Center, which has been a joint operation between First Baptist Church of Manning, the city and New Spring Church. She said that partnership will continue, but that the donations from Georgia would be used elsewhere.
"We're stockpiling these specific donations down at the Public Works facility," Nelson said. "We will then allow United Ministries to come pick up what they need when they run out of supplies. That way, we can make sure the food and other supplies are getting to those who need it the most."
Nelson said city police officers will also help distribute donated items.
"The police officers get calls in the middle of the night, and they know the needs," Nelson said. "Right now, our concentration will be more on donated supplies to repair the homes of our citizens who need it most. We have several who have lost homes and had no insurance, and FEMA is not going to be able to help. With small businesses, you also have the issue of credit worthiness when it comes to loans from the Small Business Administration."
Manning Police Chief Blair Shaffer said the out-of-state assistance was most welcome. He told Manning City Council on Monday night that he pledges his staff's support to the Rattlesnake Rodeo, the local festival held in the Hagan area each March.
"I told them to count on us," Shaffer said. "We want to help them like they helped us."
Kirkland said he feels like he, Rogers and their staffs and church members were just following the Golden Rule.
"We would hope that if we were in the same situation as Manning, someone would come help us," he said. "It's just the right thing to do."
