02 October, 2015

Same Town, Different Place...

We woke to a different town this morning, not the same town that we woke up in yesterday.

This blog is titled, "T. in the Burg".  The word "Burg" is for Roseburg.  Roseburg, Oregon is where Mr. T. and I have lived for eight years.  We are a sleepy little town in south west Oregon, formerly known as a timber town, but with the downturn in the timber industry, Roseburg is fighting it's way back to economic health through the wine industry and tourism.

Mr. T. and I watched the horror of the shooting at Umpqua Community College unfold yesterday, October 1st, as we listened to the police scanner and saw updates on TV.  How could something like this happen in our community?  Big city madness had come to our Burg.

We are so proud of our first responders, the staff at Mercy Hospital and our County Sheriff, John Hanlan, who refuses to utter the name of the shooter.  He vows to give him no publicity, the thing that he wanted most.

Within a short time after the shooting, funds to help victims had been set up at local banks, food and drink were sent to the Fairgrounds where UCC students had been bussed, blood donation sites were set up, a candlelight vigil was organized.  Roseburg is demonstrating that it is a small community with a very big heart.

We are a different town this morning.