Clothing depot moves to County 4-H Building

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

April 23, 1997

By Devlyn Brooks

Staff Writer

Just as the clothing depot was moved to the Beltrami County 4-H Building Monday, Bemidji National Guard personnel and volunteers at the Bemidji Armory moved the food collection operation for flood evacuees Tuesday to the Bemidji Curling Club a few feet east of the Armory.

According to Sgt. 1st Class Cory Orvik, just as clothing donations from the Bemidji area had become too much to handle at the Armory, the food donations also began to take up too much space as of Tuesday.

Orvik said because the Armory has been classified as a shelter, the donations had to be moved to make room for the possibility of an influx of evacuees from the East Grand Forks and Grand Forks, N.D., areas.

Prior to being moved, clothing donations had been housed in the garage at the Armory, taking up more than half of the available space that is designated for a shelter area.

As of today, Orvik said the Armory will still provide shelter for those in need and will serve as a dining hall for evacuees -- the original responsibilities of the shelter.

Food donations should now be brought to the Curling Club, located adjacent to the Armory, and clothing donations should be dropped at the 4-H Building located at the Beltrami County Fairgrounds, north of Bemidji on Highway 71.