HAZLETON, Ind. — Hundreds of sandbags officials stockpiled to combat recent flooding in Hazleton now are being given away.

“If a guy wants to haul off three semitrailer loads, I would have absolutely no problem,” said Terry Hedges, director of the Gibson County Emergency Management Agency.

About 2,000 sandbags are available from Brown Street, where floodwaters didn’t reach as high as anticipated.

“The White River didn’t touch them,” Hedges said. “They’re as good as the day they got filled.”

Even though the county is set to give away the bags, there still are enough to store at least 1,000 in Hazleton for the next time the White River threatens the community.

And Hedges said people shouldn’t plan on taking any of the bags still stacked on the levee.

“We don’t want people pulling the bags off the levee at this time,” Hedges said. “When the decision is made to make them available to the public, we will make it known.”