While I will never be able to express in words just how much it is appreciated, I wanted to take a moment to send a big thank you to the students who volunteered in Owego this past weekend to assist the residents with damage as a result of the recent flood.

I was there to assist my brother-in-law whose home is most likely going to be a total loss along with most of his family's possessions. To those of you who came to town to assist, you will never know how much your actions were appreciated by the local residents. Whether it was just offering words of encouragement as you went around looking for who needed assistance or the group of you I met on West Avenue in "The Flats" who volunteered to give a huge hand with the demolition inside a neighboring house, you have no idea the impact you had on the Owego community. It was a pretty hot day, particularly for doing a dirty, nasty, often smelly and totally exhausting job.

I heard a lot of comments from local residents who were so impressed by the number of college students who volunteered to assist. This was an incredible kind gesture by you all, and I wanted to be sure you knew how much it was appreciated.

-- Gary Breslin, Rochester, N.Y.