Community rallies to help neighbor

Published 7:28 pm Friday, October 23, 2020

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NATCHEZ — For nearly three weeks, Phillip Minor lived with a hole in his roof until his neighbor decided to lend a helping hand Friday.

A large tree branch fell on top of Minor’s home on Rankin Street just after midnight on Oct. 10. Minor was one of at least 30 people impacted by Hurricane Delta three weeks ago.

With a fixed income and no home insurance, Minor said he did not have the means to remove the tree himself.

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Fortunately for Minor, his neighbor, Brian Byrd, just happened to be the owner of a tree service. Byrd cleared a day of his busy schedule to help Minor.

“I passed by his house every day on my way to work,” Byrd said. “I just couldn’t stand to see him live with his roof like that anymore. I did 11 jobs since the storm. We have another job that I’ve postponed until Monday so I could help him out.”

Minor said he and his sister have both been sleeping under the tree since the storm.

Minor said he was surprised and grateful when Byrd knocked on his door Friday morning with a group of volunteers with Brian’s Lawn & Tree Service offering to cut away the tree at no cost.

“Thank the good Lord they came here to help,” Minor said.