By John K. Reed For the Pilot News
PLYMOUTH — Just when you think things couldn’t get much worse, you come across a situation where the community once again pulls together to help each other out.
Plymouth resident Bill Gee lives at the corner of Shalley Drive and Fairbanks Avenue, behind Magnetic Park, where water from the Yellow River is quickly approaching his back doorstep. 
Gee was bagging sand to try and keep what water he could out of his house.
Then, he said, “One of the NIPSCO guys called over to the school, said it’d be nice if we had two or three kids come out and help some of these people.”

There were more than two or three kids by the time all was said and done.
Twenty-five Plymouth High School class officers came to Gee’s aid and made short work of the pile of sand in his yard.
“These kids are fantastic!' said Gee, “They did all the work!”
The students piled sandbags around Gee’s house, hoping to protect it from the water.
It wasn’t a normal start to the school day for Hailey Hennessy, one of the class officers at PHS.
“We were late because of all the traffic, but when we got here all the class officers were called down to the office,” she said where Principal James Condon had another surprise waiting. “I thought it was to have our picture taken because they said they were going to do that this week, but he told us that we had been asked to go help the people on the other side of the river by putting sand bags around their houses and asked if we wanted to help. We said ‘let’s go’.”
A quick change to some heavy clothing, and a bus ride later, Hennessy found herself on the front line of the fight against the flood, helping to keep the waters away from the homes of Bill Gee and Terry Marshall.
“The guys got shovels and we brought bags for them to fill with sand and we started making a wall,” she said. “We started with Mr. Gee’s house and then moved on to the neighbors.”
The hard work didn’t seem to bother Hennessy.
“I like to do things for other people,” she said. “That’s really why we’re here, to try and make other people happy.”
Though not in a classroom the students also brought a lesson in life home.
“Its important you learn about Katrina, or tidal waves in class,” she said. “It gives you another perspective when you help out. It brings home the reality of it.”
It may be a reality she feels for a few days.
“I wasn’t going to say anything because I think everybody else that was helping was missing weightlifting class to be there but I was missing history,” she laughed. “Yes I am sore.”
Gee said that when the students were finished, they looked over and saw his neighbor also had a big pile of sand. The neighbor, Gary Marshall, had been up helping Gee since the early morning and hadn’t yet started on his own yard bagging sand.
The kids then went over and started in on that pile as well. 
Gee, with an ear to ear smile, said, “That makes you feel good about your community, doesn’t it?”