Our reporter, Carol Ladwig, attempted a novel Question of the Week idea last week. It almost worked.

She had heard about how local businesses were stepping up, and wanted to recognize them in person.

The list started growing. Wendy Thomas at Carmichael’s donated plastic film to cover the many damaged windows at Mount Si Court apartments. Debbie at Rockow’s had sent over a bag of burgers. She wanted to do something, but knew that more people in the way wouldn’t help. Burgers, however, could fill some bellies.

Mount Si Transitional Health Center gave Michelle Dunbar, of the destroyed hair salon, Kutters, a place to work. Frankie’s Pizza donated pizza pies, the North Bend QFC gave food, the local Starbucks gave coffee and snacks. John Day Homes and Fury Construction provided equipment to help firefighters.

Of course, it turned out that few of those folks who helped wanted any official recognition, photo and all. That’s how it goes in the Valley. Ninety percent of the time, folks who give time or treasure don’t do it for praise—they do it for a simple desire to help, a sense of connectedness or satisfaction.

Granted, the April 25 explosion didn’t affect as many Valley residents as the floods and windstorms that the Valley has seen in the past. But people step up in events like this, big or small. While the mess is being cleaned up, there are still ways for locals to help.

One is to patronize the people that were affected. Some of these businesses are more or less back to normal, but it’s going to take a while for Les Schwab, the stylists and Point Dance to get back up to 100 percent. They all could use some loyal customer support.

Some business owners are doing online benefits to recover from the blast. Lisa Riley, owner of The Run-a-Muck Cafe, Spirits & Bakery, has one at http://www.gofundme.com/8zdkds. Amy Murphy, owner of the adjacent Point Dance Center, has one at http://gogetfunding.com/project/point-dance-center-explosion.