News

Actions

Community shows support for Portland businesses shut down during ice jam

Posted at 10:17 PM, Feb 28, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-28 22:18:07-05

PORTLAND, Mich. — It's been a rough month, to say the least, for people who live in Portland.

The ice jam caused by record cold temperatures left people displaced from their homes and shut down local businesses due to flooding.

Owner of Conflux Brewing Company, Kiley Hilligan, got hit twice. Both her home and her business were flooded.

But Thursday was a celebration, a grand "re-opening" of sorts, with the city's downtown event, Wine about the Ice Jam.

“It’s a really tight-knit community,” customer John Rowe said. He says that's why so many people showed up to Conflux Thursday.

“When something happens to them, we get involved and help them out as best we can,” Rowe said.

There's also a Burger Night planned for Friday at the Portland American Legion on E. Bridge Street from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

And Hilligan says it doesn't just have to be "Wine about the Ice Jam" for customers to have a reason to stop by--they'd certainly appreciate it.