As portions of the county were still underwater, homes were damaged and roadways were fractured for those seeking refuge and supplies, a handwritten note was left at Sampson Middle School.

“I know if it was not for you amazing people, most of us here would be stranded or dead,” the anonymous person wrote to shelter workers.

Back in September, Hurricane Florence’s waters had begun to recede following a deluge of historic rainfall that caused rivers to reach record flood levels, roadways to crumble and schools to be closed for weeks.

Even as schools shut down to students and faculty indefinitely, they opened as shelters for thousands escaping Florence’s wrath. County government and local school employees took up various roles in emergency response, and many were posted up at the makeshift shelters around the clock.

Now more than four months removed from the storm, and with recovery still continuing for many, Sampson County Schools officials have ensured those who put in the hours will be rightfully compensated.

School officials were informed in late November there was no policy in place that activated emergency pay. They worked toward a solution. It took the crafting of a resolution, which was ultimately approved by the SCS Board of Education earlier this week.

That resolution assures, even belatedly, that the dedicated people — some 95 county school staffers in all — receive the proper overtime pay to which they are entitled, a tangible “thank you” for their effort.

The school board’s approval comes on the heels of a similar move in December by the Sampson County Board of Commissioners, which approved a budget amendment in the amount of $850,000 for costs related to Florence, with nearly all of that amount chalked up to salaries.

In all, 489 county government employees were compensated for administrative leave and overtime hours earned during the storm. This included employees from all departments, as well as the Cooperative Extension and some part-time transportation workers.

At the height of Florence response, the assistant county manager Susan Holder said every department was involved, whether at the Emergency Operations Center, shelters or the central receiving and distribution point for supplies at the Agri-Exposition Center.

Every single person had an assignment.

SCS vice-chairwoman Kim Schmidlin said she knew that school staff who took up at local shelters didn’t do it for the money, but the resolution was the board’s way of acknowledging the effort with more than words.

The resolution lauded the enormous sacrifice made by those who put the needs of evacuees ahead of their own and that of their families, sharing “sincere gratitude as a board and on behalf of the citizens of Sampson to the dedicated service of its employees.”

We echo that sentiment — for school staffers, county government employees, public works crews, law enforcement, first responders and the many others who helped during this county’s time of need.

The anonymous shelter letter closed by offering a simple expression of gratitude “from a group of strangers.”

“From the bottom of my heart and everyone here, THANK YOU.”

Thank you, indeed.