BELLE — Items collected locally for the Texas Relief run were loaded Sunday and began the three-day round trip to be delivered by J. Butler and Sons Trucking on Monday afternoon.

Monday morning, Joey Butler II was trying to find items to purchase to round out the room on the tractor-trailer and fill the remaining space in the truck.

“We are trying to fill the rest of the truck up,” Butler began. “I am going to buy whatever I can to finish out until the driver needs to leave.”

Butler had hoped to drive the load to Texas himself but was unable to get away for the three-day trip.

“Sometimes during a natural disaster, they wave service rules,’ Butler began, adding that he couldn’t find anywhere the service rules had been waived for Texas. 

That means the driver of the truck will only be allowed on the road for 11 hours before being required to take a 10-hour break.

The driver Butler paid had a job to do Monday morning, which gave Butler more time to find items to round off the load.

Nearly 30 volunteers were available in the parking lot of American Realty and Development on Feb. 28 to load donated items. Donations organizer Kaylee Bossaller gave credit to individuals and businesses who helped.

“Double L Country Store, Rivers Bend Pizzeria and Grill, and Southern Roots Salon of Belle all collected cash donations as well as donations throughout the week,” Bossaller said. “Over $700 was collected in cash donations for the relief. Rosebud General Store donated 80 cases of water, among groceries. There were drop-offs from individuals from Rolla and surrounding towns. Several businesses donated towards the relief: Unilever in Jefferson City, Walmart in Owensville, Kingsford Charcoal of Belle, and Mace Supermarket of Belle. Wade Guffey donated time with a skid-steer and American Realty donated their parking lot to make this possible.”

The Belle Elementary School hosted a canned food drive, which brought in an estimated 2,800 cans of food in just four days of school. The class who raised the most canned goods was promised a pizza party on March 5. “Ms. Stockton’s class counted the cans,” Bossaller said. “Ms. Jones’ class won the challenge with 721 donated cans.”

Members of the community who gathered to help on Sunday loaded 13 pallets of canned goods, water, household items, blankets, and more. Butler had six more pallets from Hannah Buddemeyer with Unilever in Jefferson City to load and said he would purchase another two pallets to fill the truck for a total of 21 pallets. “There are so many individuals who donated, many unknown, but truly, truly appreciated,” Bossaller said.