DARDANELLE, Ark. — The community of Dardanelle was faced with lots of uncertainty as flood waters rose.
But, they say they could always count on their mayor to answer their calls for help.
Dardanelle resident Charmane Hodges thought her job and home would be lost in flood waters.
"Got a little concerned whenever they were like, 'well it's gonna get up higher than it ever has before in history,'" Hodges said.
Before she knew it, her mayor Jimmy Witt was working with the community to protect the small town.
"Got everyone sandbagging, taking care of things. He blocked water off everywhere he could," Hodges said.
Mayor Witt has been posting updates to Facebook on conditions daily, reaching thousands of people in minutes.
"We knew every day at 3:30 that he was going to come on and let us know what was going on. Let us know how high the water was going to get that day," Hodges said.
After quickly organizing relief efforts and repairing levees, people from all around are saying thanks.
"I would have to say thank you for having our small community be in the best interest of your heart," Hodges said.
Witt said he's just a reflection of the community he serves.
"We all pitch in, it doesn't matter who it is. It doesn't matter your status," Witt said.
You can see that support, in a simple stress ball a child made for the mayor.
"Each generation is taught you help each other and you think of each other’s pain and suffering," Witt said.
Now, he's thinking about what's next like cleanup efforts, repairs, and protective measures.
"I want to build a levee—a small levee—around our school system between it and these fields where we were having this water coming towards us. Through mitigation dollars, we can do that. And we can also allow the schools to apply for some better drainage to be put in place that will run underneath these levees," Witt said.
He's also working to get farmers things they may have lost this flood like fence posts, barbed wire and lumber.