(Pierce County Leader) Twenty semi-tractor trailers loaded with hay, fencing posts and wire left Pierce this past Tuesday morning headed for western Nebraska as part of a relief effort for ranchers and farm- ers devastated by grass fires that have burned an estimated 850,000 acres over the past three weeks.
The relief convoy from Pierce is headed to a location just west of Oshkosh, NE, a six-hour, 350-mile trip. The trucks left Pierce around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 24, heading west on Highway 13.
They were escorted out of town by Pierce Volunteer Fire Department trucks. Pierce Police stopped highway traffic as they left town.
The relief effort was organized by local trucker Austin Harrison and area farmers Gerry and Tyler Krueger with the help of numerous volunteers over the past couple weeks. Nearly $12,000 in donations has been received to help fund the effort. Diesel fuel alone is estimated to cost $700 to $800 per truck. And each truck will be hauling around 80,000 pounds of hay.
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Editor’s note: Osmond Community Schools students and staff collected a total of $1,701.27 to help fuel the trucks, and local businesses also do- nated funds. Also, in a conversation with a local trucker, he reported that he will be hauling fence posts — another much-needed item — from Texas to Cozad, NE, early next week.
The need for help in western Nebraska will be ongoing, and help is being extended by numerous state and national organizations, as well as ag producers across Nebraska and adjoining states.
