Dear President Biden,
As I’m sure you’re aware West
Point, NY was the epicenter of a horrific storm on 09 July 2023. What you might
not be aware of is West Point is actually part of a larger town, The Town of
Highlands. The Town of Highlands is comprised of the Village of Highland Falls
and Hamlet of Fort Montgomery, Bear Mountain State Park and the aforementioned
West Point.
It was raining hard, but lately
it’s been raining hard so we thought nothing of it. As the first upgrade of our
newly purchased home, last summer we put in a new driveway and drain to control
any incoming water to be safe. When you live in a Town named Highlands, you try
to be prepared. I checked the drain at least 3 or 4 times over the course of an
hour to see how it was holding up. It was doing a great job funneling the water
away from my attached garage. But then in what seemed like an instant everything
changed. The water started gushing into the driveway, the storm drains were
suddenly overwhelmed and my new drain was no match. Water gushed through my
driveway, into my backyard and started finding it’s way into my garage. I
grabbed the flood barriers I had purchased and strategically put them in in
back of the closed garage door but it was too late. Before I knew it, the water
was ankle deep. I quickly went inside and we grabbed every blanket and towel we
owned to put it in front of the door to the living space. It worked pretty well
keeping that at bay but a new problem arose. The water was about to flood my fiancé’s
large SUV. I hurried into the knee deep water to move the car to higher ground
just in time. Crisis averted. At least for us. We were now at a standstill and
in all of the commotion the power had gone out. So I did what every red blooded
American would do when you can’t do anything else. I looked at my phone. The
ordeal we had just gone through was quickly put into perspective when I saw
what the rest of my town was going through. Absolute destruction. Cars being
swept away, houses being displaced. Buildings decimated. People lost homes and
even worse, one lost a life. We mourn for her death, we mourn for our town.
Anyone who loves this town will never be the same.
What I have seen since that day
could not make me more proud. Volunteers helping others by providing food,
shelter, and water. Facebook pleas for help being answered within minutes.
People taking displaced individuals into their homes. It shows the community
that we have, it shows the heart and perseverance that is engrained into our
citizens. It shows why we were once nicknamed “Hometown, USA.” Our town came
together to help each other, but we need more help.
I personally work in West Point
for the United States Military Academy. I’ve worked on West Point for 26 out of
my 40 years of life. My story is not rare, it’s the story of many in our town.
I’m pretty sure 8 out of 10 people I know from the Town of Highlands have worked
on West Point at some point in their lives. So, it’s ironic that I'm trying to
appeal to the government when the truth is...we ARE the government. Over the
years we work on West Point and live in “The Gateway to West Point”, we watch
cadets turn into officers. We watch officers move up the ranks. And inevitably,
we watch them all leave West Point behind. Such is the life of a soldier. Yet
we remain. We are the glue of the preeminent leader development institution in
the world. In some way, people like us are the glue of our country. But right
now, our community needs our country to be OUR glue. We need our country to put
us back together, to make us whole again. This is why I ask, please approve FEMA funding for our residents. Basic homeowners insurance is not going to
cover it. I have already been denied, as have countless others, so we…need…help.
Mr. President, Hometown, USA needs your help.
Sincerely,
Bryan Fox
