PEMBINA, N.D. — Despite the Red River pushing against the levee here — at 57.3 feet — the residents are rather confident their homes will be safe.
One small hiccup, however, the generator running the sanitary lift station broke down, something that potentially could have caused sewage to flood the basements of many homes.
North Dakota National Guard Staff Sgt. Jason W. Grazadzieleski, of Grafton, N.D., and Sgt. Jarrod G. Rost, Park River, N.D., both of the 132nd Quartermaster Co., recently were sent to Pembina with another generator and a wealth of knowledge on how to fix them.
The due were the right choice for this mission to augment the city's fight against the slow rise of the Red.
Grazadzieleski, who works for the Grand Forks public works division, said that Pembina was having troubles with their sanitary lift station.
"And that's what I do for the city of Grand Forks; I'm a waste-water flood guy," he said.
"When we got up here the first day was spend unloading and placing the military generator," Grazadzieleski added. "For liability reasons, we weren't allowed to touch the city's sanitary lift station."
A civilian electrician, a co-worker of Rost, had to be hired to hard-wire the military generator to the lift station.
Rost, an electrician for Samson Electric in Park River, N.D., also had the skills, acquired as a civilian and a Guardsman, to help whenever needed.
Once the life station was up and running, it still needed to be monitored from time to time. However, the pair refocused their attention anywhere in town they could make a difference.
"We looked at their generator and told them what they needed to replace to get it operational again," Grazadzieleski said.
"The fire truck had an electrical problem I was able to troubleshoot and repair," Rost said. "It was nice to work on their equipment and help out where I could."
The two citizen soldiers had plenty of options for a homemade meal, as the townspeople showed thanks.
"They were very accommodating people [in Pembina]," Rost said.
"We were offered to eat at the school every day," Grazadzieleski said. "On weekends, the fire hall offered to cook for us."
The team was not afraid to put down the wrenches, roll up their sleeves, and pitch in any way they could.
"Sgt. Rost and I helped sandbag city buildings and a few local businesses, and walked the dike with city officials," Grazadzieleski said.
In the city's flood plan, at 48 feet, volunteer citizens walk the permanent dike to ensure it is intact.
For Grazadzieleski, a native of Drayton, N.D., this mission had been a kind of homecoming for him.
"I have not been to Pembina since 1992," Grazadzieleski said.
He grew up in the area and played football for the high school there, Grazadzieleski said. He knows a lot of people from the area, which was a reason why he wanted to take part in this mission.
"I was happy to go and they were happy to have us," Grazadzieleski said.
Grazadzieleski and Rost have returned from Pembina and continue in the flood fight at the Grand Forks Armed Forces Reserve Center repairing equipment valuable to the Guard's effort in eastern North Dakota.