Heroes are not always supermen. Sometimes they're just small town guys who help in a small but vital way.

Gordon Cermak, owner of Do It Best Hardware in Beulah, is one of those.

Cermak did big business in snowblowers this winter, but as his community stood poised on the brink of an historic spring flood, he realized he needed to stock his shelves with flood-fighting supplies, and fast.

He got into his vehicle and drove in snowstorms and over bad roads to Minot, Bismarck and Minnesota to buy up what he could.

In the end, the hardware man found 200 drain plugs - no easy feat with rivers flooding across the state - and enough sump pumps to fill the need.

He also picked up waders, rubber boots and other supplies.

Back in Beulah, as the waters came up, he and his wife, Rita Cermak, kept the store open late and the coffee pot hot.

"It was really hard seeing people come in, knowing and believing they could prevent damage to their homes, but not knowing if they could get the stuff they needed in time," he said.

Having the right equipment in the store made him feel pretty good, and Beulah folks made a point of stopping in after the waters receded to let the Cermaks know their effort was most appreciated.

"We really felt good knowing we could help our neighbors and how much they appreciated it," Gordon Cermak said.

He's still got boxes of waders, rubber boots and other supplies, stuff he might not sell until the next flood comes around.

"But that's OK," he said.

- Beulah Beacon

Back on track

The Zeeland Fire Department has apparently reorganized after a fractious election and a walkout by some of the members.

Some of the department had been feuding with the Zeeland City Council, at one point locking the council out of the meeting room.

One of the first orders of the newly elected fire board was to get locks changed on the meeting room door.

Darrell Graf, training officer for the fire department, has filed a complaint with the North Dakota Attorney General's office. He said the former fire chief and former secretary exaggerated fire department training records to the Insurance Services Office.

The Ashley Tribune has been attempting to contact that office to verify the accusation, but its spokesperson denied any dealings with the former fire chief.

In the meantime, the Zeeland Fire Department was able to get a quorum of four directors and elect a new president and treasurer.

- Ashley Tribune