Watkins to join Roberts in flooding related town hall Thursday

Kansas Second District Congressman Steve Watkins will be in extreme Northeast Kansas to talk with residents there about their needs after spring flooding later this week.

“I’ll be on site in Doniphan County this week with Senator Pat Roberts,” said Watkins Tuesday. “We’re holding a town hall on the flooding. That’s Thursday the 30th from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Highland, Kansas. Pat Roberts and I will be there along with other disaster response professionals explaining what it is that we can try and do at the federal level to make sure that people are taken care of.”

Flooding in the Missouri River basin earlier this spring prompted the evacuation of the Kansas border town of Elwood.

“It’s a bipartisan effort in Congress,” said Watkins. “I’m working together with Sharice Davids, a friend of mine and a peer of mine, as well as Roger Marshall, Ron Estes and our two Senators. We’re going to do everything we can to help out the good people of Kansas. We’re going to stick to it to the end.”

Watkins acknowledges that the damage may not be complete yet, either.

“We’re not out of the briar patch just yet,” said Watkins. “My background as an engineer, I think, is a great base on which to operate. I’ve been on the levees as folks are filling up Hesco barriers and sandbags. That’s an environment I’m used to.”

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has asked for federal assistance with the flood disaster in Kansas. Her disaster declaration includes 49 counties from throughout the state as of Monday.