Local Men's Request For Texas Relief Effort Explodes, They Are Now En Route With 15K LBS Of Supplies

An estimated 10K lbs of bottled water was donated in the drive.

An enclosed box trailer exceeds capacity as more supplies kept coming in.

Darren Doyle, story:
Two local men, Zachary Bullock and Tommy Rigsby, saw a need 850 miles away and thanks the powers of kindness and the internet, they are now in route to Texas after driving most of the night, hauling an estimated 15,000 pounds of supplies for Hurricane Harvey victims.

Bullock contacted the Edmonson Voice on Wednesday and asked us to help pass the word that he and others were organizing a supply drive to send to Texas for those in need. He had recently purchased a 34 foot enclosed trailer and wanted to fill it with as many supplies as possible. He was going to be set up at the public library in an attempt to fill the trailer.

In addition to the two men's own Facebook posts, we published an article on the same day and within hours, Bullock and Rigsby discovered that they were going to need another trailer.

"People from everywhere wanted to help and the thing just took off," said Rigsby. "We asked for people to drop off supplies on Thursday from around 4pm to 7pm but stuff started coming in from everywhere."

L-R: Tommy Rigsby, Zachary Bullock, Haley Brooks, Zach Benningfield, Blake Alexander.

​Local business C&C Firearms opened their doors as an early drop off point for those who'd be unable to donate items within the requested time period. Owner Josh Casey said items began pouring in immediately.

"It was nice to see a couple of local young guys put forth this much effort to help others," said Casey. "We were well pleased with the turnout here and were glad to help."

Rigsby said as they began filling the trailer on Thursday, they were soon overwhelmed with the amount of supplies that were coming in not only from the county, but people everywhere wanted to help. The enclosed trailer became so full that Rigsby said the axles began to bend. Needing help, he called a friend in Bowling Green, Trevor Baise, who donated the use of another truck, and Dick Davis soon donated another trailer.

"We were supposed to leave yesterday around noon but stuff kept coming in," he said. "We finally left last night around 8pm with everything. We've had some obstacles to overcome but we're in Arkansas this morning and we hope to make the deliveries this afternoon in Texas."

Rigsby said they've faced mechanical troubles on one of the two personal pickups they're driving, but they're trucking on. They said they plan on flying the Kentucky Commonwealth state flag on one of the trucks just before their arrival to show Texans that they have friends in Kentucky. Not only the bluegrass state in general, but also in Edmonson County.

"No matter what people think about Edmonson County, we'll give you the shirts off our backs," Rigsby said.

**Correction: an earlier version of this article said that Trevor Baise donated the extra trailer, when in fact, he donated another truck. Dick Davis donated the additional trailer. The Edmonson Voice apologizes for the error.

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