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The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
Tuesday, December 27, 2022 3A
Deep freeze breaks pipes, creates water crisis in South
Clouds are reflected off the City of Jackson’s O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Facility’s
sedimentation basins in Ridgeland, Miss., on Sept. 2. Officials in Jackson said the city’s
water system, which partially collapsed in late August, was experiencing “fluctuating”
pressure on Saturday, Dec. 24, amid frigid temperatures.
Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. — Days
of freezing temperatures in
Deep South areas that usu
ally freeze for only hours
are threatening dozens
of water systems as burst
pipes leak millions of gal
lons of water.
The problems were hap
pening Monday in large,
troubled water systems like
Jackson, Mississippi, where
residents were required
over Christmas to boil water
months after most lost ser
vice because of a cascade
of problems from years of
poor maintenance.
They also are happen
ing in Shreveport, Louisi
ana, where some residents
had no water Monday. In
Selma, Alabama, the mayor
declared a state of emer
gency because they city
worried it would run out of
water. Workers at a food
bank in Greenville, South
Carolina, opened their
doors to a rush of water and
were trying to save $1 mil
lion in food. Police depart
ments around Atlanta said
their 911 systems were
being overwhelmed by
unnecessary emergency
calls about broken pipes.
Dozens of water systems
either had boil advisories in
place because of low pres
sure or warned of bigger
catastrophes if leaks from
broken pipes weren’t found
and water shut off.
The culprit was tempera
tures that dropped below
freezing Thursday or early
Friday and have spent only
a few hours if any above 32
degrees since then.
Water expands when
it freezes, bursting pipes
that aren’t protected. Then
when the temperature rises,
those broken pipes start
leaking hundreds or thou
sands of gallons of water.
And over a holiday week
end, when many businesses
are closed, those leaks can
go undetected for days,
Charleston, South Carolina,
water system spokesman
Mike Saia told WCSC-TV.
Charleston was on the
verge of a boil water
requirement for its hun
dreds of thousands of cus
tomers that could close
restaurants and other
ROGELIO V. SOLIS I Associated Press
businesses.
The system puts out about
50 million gallons of water
during a typical winter day.
Over the holiday weekend,
its output was about 100 mil
lion gallons. More than 400
customers reported burst
pipes, so between unre
ported leaks, closed busi
nesses and empty vacation
homes, the system figures
thousands of leaky pipes
are gushing water.
“It’s death by a thou
sand cuts,” Saia told the TV
station.
The situation in Jackson
was not as dire as August,
when many of the capital’s
150,000 people lost running
water after flooding exac
erbated longstanding prob
lems in one of the capital
city’s two water treatment
plants. Residents had to
wait in lines for water to
drink, cook, bathe and flush
toilets.
But there were people
without water pressure and
the city set up an emer
gency water distribution
site on Christmas.
“We continue to struggle
to return pressure to the
water system. We are pro
ducing significant amounts
of water and pushing that
into the system but the
pressure is not increasing
— despite those efforts at
the plants. The issue has to
be significant leaks in the
system that we have yet to
identify,” Jackson officials
said in a statement.
In Selma, Mayor James
Perkins Jr. issued an emer
gency order Christmas Day
asking owners to go to their
businesses and check for
leaks before the city ran out
of water.
Crews in the city of 18,000
were able to find and fix
enough leaks to equalize
the amount of water coming
into and out of the system,
Perkins said Monday in a
statement. But there was a
major leak that hasn’t yet
been found and two more
nights that are forecast to be
below freezing, the mayor
said.
Broken pipes were also
causing problems at indi
vidual buildings. A massive
leak was reported at the Ala
bama Statehouse in Mont
gomery on Christmas Eve,
according to WFSA-TV.
At the Harvest Hope Food
Bank in Greenville, South
Carolina, employees opened
the building Monday morn
ing and several inches of
water rushed out. Broken
pipes were spraying water
and workers turned away
dozens of needy people, the
food bank said.
The water cut power to
the food bank’s freezers and
refrigerators, and workers
faced the double challenge
of getting power restored
before the food spoiled and
keeping water out of the
area. Up to $1 million of
food could be destroyed, the
food bank said.
The forecast did provide
good news. Monday’s highs
across the Deep South were
expected to be at least in the
40s and the freezing tem
peratures at night shouldn’t
last as long until a much
warmup arrives later this
week.
Western NY cold, storm death toll up to 28
Associated Press
In this photo provided by the Twitter account of New York
Gov. Kathy Hochul, snow from this weekend’s blizzard
covers downtown Buffalo on Monday, Dec. 26.
BY CAROLYN THOMPSON
Associated Press
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buf
falo residents hovered
around space heaters,
hunted for cars buried in
snow drifts and looked
for more victims Monday,
after 28 people died in
one of the worst weather-
related disasters ever to
hit western New York.
The rest of the United
States also was reeling
from the ferocious win
ter storm, with at least
another two dozen deaths
reported in other parts of
the country.
Up to 9 more inches of
snow could fall in some
areas of western New
York through Tuesday,
the National Weather Ser
vice said.
“This is not the end yet,”
said Erie County Execu
tive Mark Poloncarz, call
ing the blizzard “the worst
storm probably in our life
time,” even for an area
accustomed to punishing
snow.
Some people, he noted,
were stranded in their
cars for more than two
days.
President Joe Biden
said his prayers were with
the victims’ families, and
offered federal assistance
Monday to the hard-hit
state.
Those who lost their
lives around Buffalo were
found in cars, homes and
snowbanks. Some died
while shoveling snow,
others when emergency
crews could not respond in
time to medical crises.
Melissa Carrick, a doula,
said the blizzard forced
her to coach a pregnant
client through childbirth
by telephone. An ambu
lance crew transported the
woman to a hospital about
45 minutes south of Buffalo
because none of the closer
hospitals were reachable.
“In any other normal
Buffalo storm? I would just
go because that’s what you
do — just drive through the
snow,” she said. “But you
knew this was different.”
Scientists say the cli
mate change crisis may
have contributed to the
intensity of the storm.
That’s because the atmo
sphere can carry more
water vapor, which acts
as fuel, said Mark Serreze,
director of the National
Snow and Ice Data Center
at the University of Colo
rado, Boulder.
Victor Gensini, a meteo
rology professor at North
ern Illinois University,
likened a single weather
event to an “at-bat” — and
the climate as your “bat
ting average.”
“It’s hard to say,”
Serreze said. “But are the
dice a little bit loaded now?
Absolutely.”
The blizzard roared
across western New York
Friday and Saturday. With
many grocery stores in
the Buffalo area closed
and driving bans in place,
some people pleaded on
social media for donations
of food and diapers.
“It was like looking at
a white wall for 14 to 18
hours straight,” Poloncarz,
the county official, said.
COLD
■ Continued from 1A
seems to be low at this
time, but there still might
be up to a quarter-inch
accumulation at the
most.”
Hernandez said road
conditions are expected to
be mostly clear Tuesday
morning.
“Once the sun comes up
any accumulation should
melt,” she said.
The temperature is
expected to stay below
freezing before climbing
to 36 degrees by 10 a.m.
Tuesday morning.
Utility providers have
worked through the long
weekend to resolve out
ages to thousands of cus
tomers affected by the
arctic blast, and only four
Jackson EMC custom
ers in Hall County were
without power Monday
afternoon.
An emergency homeless
shelter opened Wednes
day before temperatures
dropped to single digits.
Jim Froehlich, a phy
sician at Good News at
Noon who has led the
effort, said Friday morn
ing that they had about
30 homeless folks staying
at the shelter. Local non
profits and churches have
donated money, blankets,
sleeping bags, gloves and
food. And the city, he said,
paid for some portable
SCAM
■ Continued from 1A
After being alerted
about the scam, law
enforcement set up a sting
at the couple’s home.
The Sheriff’s Office
said Massey tried to drive
away from law enforce
ment but was blocked in
by patrol cars.
Massey was addition
ally charged with fleeing
or attempting to elude and
reckless driving.
Massey entered what is
known as an Alford plea,
where he maintains his
innocence but concedes
there is enough evidence
for a conviction. He was
also sentenced under the
First Offender Act, which
means he will have the
case discharged from his
record if he fulfills the
terms of his sentence.
Both men were fined
$2,950.
Davis’ attorney, Gil
bert Sperling, did not
return requests seeking
comment.
Massey’s attorney
Melaney LaGrone said
Massey felt it was in
best interest to take the
Alford plea. LaGrone said
Massey and Davis were
recruited into picking up
the money.
Massey’s attorney said
her client heard about it
from Davis but couldn’t
elaborate on how Davis
was recruited into it.
“This is unfortunately
bigger than, I guess, what
these young men who
are asked to do, as far as
picking up the money on
the street. ... I don’t even
know if they know exactly
what they’re doing and
why,” LaGrone said.
LaGrone said she hopes
authorities will focus on
the people behind these
types of schemes.
“For someone to know
so many people’s private
information, I think that’s
the bigger problem, and
someone needs to work on
catching the individuals
that are ultimately start
ing this from the begin
ning,” LaGrone said.
COX
■ Continued from 1A
other products grow more
advanced.
“If it’s got a chip, there
can be cyber-attacks,” he
said.
Cox, who said his “fam
ily goes back pretty far” in
north Georgia, said part of
the reason he chose to run
was due to the seat being in
a new district.
“I have my own busi
ness (selling ventilation
hood systems) and have
for many, many years and
have coached high school
football as a defensive
coordinator in Forsyth, as
well as in Dawson County,
for many years,” he said.
“I stepped away from that
to run, and I ran because it
was an open seat with newly
drawn maps.”
Part of the prepara
tion has included attend
ing the Biennial Institute
for Georgia Legislators at
the University of Georgia,
a training session for leg
islators that Cox recently
described as “a great oppor
tunity to meet everybody
from all sides and learning
about the budget and differ
ent committees, just getting
a better understanding so
that when we start in Janu
ary, we’re prepared.”
Along with the training,
Cox said he also recently
traveled to Israel at his own
expense as part of a state
delegation visit to discuss
economic development and
other partnerships between
Israel and Georgia.
“(We) worked with the
(Israel Defense Forces)
and foreign affairs, learned
more about the Iron Dome
(defense system), went into
the West Bank, went into
an area known as the Salad
Trail on agriculture and
how Israelis farm in the
dessert some of the desali
nation programs,” Cox said.
“(We were) learning how
Israel functions and how
Georgia and Israel have
built a strong alliance in
economic development.”
Even before training
and traveling, it has been
a busy year for Cox, who
had never sought political
office and had to go through
a crowded Republican field
in May’s primary before
getting to November’s gen
eral election for the seat.
In the primary, Cox was
the top vote-getter in a six-
candidate race, earning
about 32% of the vote total,
but did not have enough
votes to avoid a runoff with
fellow Republican Julie
Tressler, who earned about
23% of primary votes.
Cox and Tressler faced
off in a primary runoff in
June, with Cox receiving
56% of the more than 4,100
votes cast in the district,
including earning 57.25% of
Forsyth County’s more than
3,700 votes.
Cox lives in Forsyth
County with his wife,
Tonya, and the couple has
three adult children and
one grandchild.
Fourth Wash,
electrical
substation
vandalized
TACOMA, Wash. — A
fourth electrical substa
tion was vandalized late on
Christmas Day in Washing
ton state, leaving homes
in Kapowsin and Graham
temporarily without power,
according to the Pierce
County Sheriff’s Office.
By 7 a.m. Monday, more
than 10,500 Puget Sound
Energy customers were
without electricity across
the region, KOMO-TV
reported.
The suspects broke into a
fenced area and vandalized
equipment, causing a fire,
officials said. The fire was
extinguished and power
was later restored, but no
suspects are in custody, offi
cials said.
The attacks come as fed
eral officials are warning
that the U.S. power grid
needs better security to
prevent domestic terrorism
and after a large outage in
North Carolina earlier this
month that took days to
repair.
The first substation was
vandalized at about 5:30
a.m. Sunday, followed by a
second substation, accord
ing to Tacoma Public Utili
ties. The outages affected
about 7,300 customers in an
area southeast of Tacoma.
Just before noon, the utility
had restored power to all
but 2,700 customers whose
power was estimated to be
restored at about 6:30 p.m.
Sunday.
Associated Press
SANCTIONS
■ Continued from 1A
according to Brantley’s
order.
The court will also
exclude Messer from pre
senting expert testimony
related to these bubbler
tubes “as well as any evi
dence related to the condi
tion of both bubbler tubes,”
according to the order.
Gwinnett County Judge
Veronica Cope issued simi
lar sanctions Nov. 30 in
the case of Ximena Sophia
Vera, a young girl who lost
her parents: Nelly Perez-
Rafael, 28, of Gainesville,
and Edgar Vera-Garcia, 28,
of Gainesville.
Cope ordered that Messer
“shall be totally barred from
introducing any evidence or
argument regarding the bub
bler tube at issue here, how
the tube became bent and
the extent to which the tube
did or did not contribute to
the liquid nitrogen overflow
disaster.”
“Defendants shall be per
mitted to introduce evidence
about the alleged shortcom
ings of other safety equip
ment and workplace safety
culture at the poultry plant,
but are categorically barred
from attempting to rebut or
refute any evidence offered
by plaintiffs specifically as it
related to the bubbler tube,”
Cope wrote.
Brantley issued additional
sanctions Dec. 20 in another
injury case involving Jason
Adams, Cristian Faur and
Ryan Cook, three men who
tried to rescue people from
the leak.
Brantley wrote that
Messer has “withheld hun
dreds of documents under
unsupported claims of attor
ney-client privilege and
work product protection.”
The plaintiffs believed
that they had received
everything in discovery until
a deposition of a former
Foundation Food Group
employee, who said he had
given a recorded statement
to Messer’s attorneys under
oath.
“Defendants never put
plaintiffs on notice of the
recorded statements in its
answers to plaintiffs’ discov
ery and further defendants
never put plaintiffs on notice
of the recorded statements
and failed to identify the
statement on the privilege
log for approximately one
year,” according to Brant
ley’s order.
The privilege log
describes documents being
withheld as privileged
materials.
Brantley ordered that
Messer will have until Jan.
23 to fix its privilege log
issues.
The judge also awarded
$33,000 in attorney’s fees
and expenses to the plain
tiffs’ counsel.
Messer sent a statement
concerning the two sanc
tions ordered by the judges.
“Although Messer dis
agrees with the Court orders
from Judge Cope and Judge
Brantley, we respect the
Court and are evaluat
ing how we will respond,”
Messer spokeswoman Amy
Ficon wrote in an email.
“Regardless, Messer will
comply with the ruling, just
as we have cooperated —
and continue to cooperate —
fully with all investigators,
including (the Occupational
Safety and Health Admin
istration) and (the U.S.
Chemical Safety and Haz
ard Investigation Board).
Messer is committed to the
shared goal of finding the
causes of this incident and
doing its part to prevent
such an incident from ever
happening again.”
Ficon said the company
has always recommended
customers “take numerous
specific precautions to con
trol nitrogen hazards and
ensure its safe use.”
“Messer welcomes the
opportunity at trial to pres
ent all evidence, as allowed
by the Court, that will help
the jury to seek the truth
and determine what led to
the FFG tragedy,” Ficon
said. “Messer regrets that
plaintiffs’ Motion for Sanc
tions distracts from pend
ing cases and the actions
Messer has taken to provide
information to the lawyers
representing the victims of
the Foundation Food Group
incident.”