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PAGE 2A —THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. MARCH 5, 2009
Snow .cont’d from 1A
An estimated 100,000
Georgians suffered power
outages after the storm. But
Madison County and neigh
boring Jackson County were
the hardest-hit area, with
Madison County schools
shutting down for three days
due to the weather.
“It’s been a storm to remem
ber,’’ said Madison County
Commission Chairman
Anthony Dove.
Dove said he appreciates
the hard work of many after
the storm, such as the road
department, which worked
through the night Sunday
clearing the roads, the power
companies working to restore
services, the EMS, 911, sher
iff’s office and rescue work
ers who logged long hours
answering emergency calls.
Dove said he was par
ticularly appreciative of the
county’s volunteer firemen.
“I am just so thankful for
the fire departments, those
who volunteered their time
away from their families who
were also without power,’’
said Dove.
911 FLOODED
WITH CALLS
Madison County 911 direc
tor David Camp said his
office was flooded with calls
as soon as the snow started
falling early Sunday after
noon, with people reporting
fallen trees, downed power
lines and single-vehicle acci
dents.
The office received 915
emergency calls between
March 1-3, with another
1,117 calls coming in on its
non-emergency lines.
“That’s the most we’ve ever
received,” said Camp, noting
that even the tornado of 2004
didn’t generate the same call
volume.
There were no reports of
weather-related fatalities.
However, Camp said his
office received several calls
from people in medical dis
tress, such as those on oxy
gen support, who feared that
the lack of electricity would
leave them without a way to
breathe.
Of course, getting to the
hospital was treacherous.
Camp said two ambulances
had to be pulled out of ditch
es. One that was stuck for an
extended period had a patient
inside, but the person was
reportedly OK.
Camp said his office
received numerous calls from
people complaining of the
cold, wondering where they
could go.
“We advised them of the
dangerous road conditions
and urged them to wrap up in
blankets,” said Camp.
The 911 director said his
office received calls about
two roofs collapsing Sunday,
one a barn roof, the other at
Georgia Metal Finishing at
Madico Park. He said there
was a chicken house fire at
Hwy. 172 and Holly Creek
Church Road. Danielsville,
Comer, Collins and Colbert
volunteer fire departments
responded. There were also
several calls of fires from
downed power lines.
The 911 office also suf
fered a power outage. The
office ran on backup genera
tor power from about 5 p.m.
Sunday to 3:30 a.m. Monday,
Camp said.
LIVING WITHOUT
ELECTRICITY
In Danielsville, shoppers
made their way through dark
ened aisles at the Marketplace
Monday afternoon, preparing
to hunker down for another
cold and “powerless” night.
Meanwhile, cashiers hur
ried back and forth, price
checking items on shelves
before adding up the num
bers by hand. A sign posted
at each register apologeti
cally asked for “cash only”
since without electricity there
was no way to process other
forms of payment.
This was just one of many
scenes around the county
this week as county residents
struggled to deal with power
outages and slick icy roads.
Bottled water was a neces
sity, since well pumps were
useless without electricity.
Flashlights were needed to
navigate through dark homes.
Quilts were stacked on beds
as people breathed the cold
air and tried to stay warm.
Danielsville Police Chief
Rodney Christian said
Tuesday that power in town
went out Sunday evening,
but that Georgia Power had
restored electricity by around
5 a.m. The power stayed on
for about six hours, before
they experienced a second
power outage around 11 a.m.
that lasted until around 10
p.m. Monday.
Several convenience stores
like the Golden Pantry also
kept their doors open Monday
afternoon for those seeking
supplies, but the store had to
turn gas customers away.
Meanwhile, police moni
tored the town’s sole traf
fic light at the intersection
of Hwys. 98 and 29, which
became a four-way stop until
power was restored. Christian
said there were no accidents
or other major problems
The roof of a Danielsville maintenance shed collapsed
under the weight of the snow. (Charles Richards)
Snow falls on an old home off Minish Road Sunday.
Zach Mitcham/Staff
(Above, L-R) Jackson EMC Linemen Greg Angel, Troy Colley, Brandon Childers and
Rodney Black head to the next job after making repairs to a power pole in Madison
County. (Below) About 70 broken poles were reported after the snowstorm. Pictured is a
broken pole in Madison County. (Mark Owen, Jackson EMC)
while the light was out.
A few miles south in Hull,
Ingles store manager Jerry
Drake said the 24-hour super
market lost power around 8
p.m. Sunday and had to close
down for the night. The store
was able to re-open Monday
morning at 7 with “partial
power,” but the lights went
out again at noon, forcing
the store to close for a second
time.
“It was very frustrating,”
Drake said, adding that bat
tery backups for cash regis
ters also malfunctioned, so
cashiers couldn’t even check
out customers who were
shopping when the power
went out.
And Drake, who lives
northwest of Ila. said his own
home remained without elec
trical service as of Tuesday
afternoon.
“I know they’re (power
line crews) working as hard
as they can,” he said.
Some in the town of Ila
were also still in the dark
as of Tuesday afternoon,
city clerk Susan Steed said,
though some power was
restored early Tuesday morn
ing.
Ila volunteer firefighters
and councilmen were con
tinuing to cut and remove
trees from a number of
city streets to assist power
crews and so buses and par
ents could get through when
schools reopened.
ICY ROADS
Sheriff Kip Thomas said
Tuesday that his deputies
worked quite a few accidents
around the county, one right
after another, but that none
were very serious.
“It was mostly vehicles
sliding off the roadway,” he
said.
One of his own deputies,
Michael Moore, suffered a
back injury when he sipped
and fell on ice while working
an accident scene on Hwy.
106.
EMS director Dwayne
Patton said county emergen
cy crews handled 42 calls
during the worst of the storm
and icy conditions — most
of which were medical calls
from people on home oxy
gen.
Patton said their four regu
lar ambulance crews, plus
two additional crews were
working calls during the
height of storm-related activ
ity.
The most serious case — a
cardiac call — came in early
Sunday afternoon, right after
the snow fall began.
“It was fortunate that that
particular call came before
the roads became so bad,”
Patton said.
In many cases, EMS
crews were assisted by First
Responders, volunteer fire
fighters, the county road crew
and others who either cleared
roadways or helped transport
patients from their home to
the road when ambulances
simply couldn’t get through.
“As always in these situ
ations, it’s impressive to
see how this county comes
together to help each other,”
Patton said.
SCHOOLS CLOSED
FOR THREE DAYS
DUE TO WEATHER
Sunday’s blitzkrieg of
extreme winter weather
translated into a rare five-day
weekend for students.
Seven inches of snow
Sunday night and its after
effects — ice, power outages
and downed trees — forced
Madison County Schools
Superintendent Mitch
McGhee to close schools
Monday through Wednesday.
After Monday’s closure
due to snow, five of the seven
school campuses were still
without power at around 4
p.m., prompting McGhee to
cancel classes again Tuesday.
Icy roads and icy school
walkways in the morning
were cited as another con
cern.
“If it’s 21 degrees, there’s
going to be sheets of ice as
you walk into every school,”
McGhee said Monday.
“You’d have people slipping
and falling.”
McGhee then canceled
Wednesday classes because
several fallen trees on the
county’s dirt roads blocked
bus routes.
McGhee made the
announcement at around 5
p.m. Tuesday after consult
ing with county commission
chairman Anthony Dove and
Charles Temple of the road
department.
The combination of snow
and ice has apparently
weighed too heavily on some
trees.
“The trees just started
bowing pretty quickly,”
Associate Superintendent
Allen McCannon said.
McCannon explained that
conditions on the sides of the
roads were too muddy for
buses to drive around the
downed trees.
McCannon also noted that
all schools had regained
power by Tuesday afternoon.
The winter weather didn’t
prevent Madison County
High School from host
ing a second-round girls’
state tournament game with
Southwest DeKalb, howev
er. Since the county’s main
roads were clear of downed
trees, the teams tipped off as
planned Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
(see page IB for details).
McGhee said Monday that
he toured each of the seven
campuses in the system and
found no apparent weather-
related structural damage.
— Margie Richards, Ben
Munro and Zach Mitcham
each contributed to this
story.
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YOtlR SUPPORT IS
GREATLY NEEDED!
As a resident of Madison County, you know of the support
greatly needed by our local Madison County Food Bank
(MCFB).
PLEASE, donate financially, any amount, to the MCFB. Times
are tight, but I believe if we all join together, we can come to the
aid of the hurting and suffering around us. Food is a huge issue
to some. Imagine if you were not able to provide that basic
need to your family. What if it were you? Where would you go?
My guess would be you’d visit the Madison County Food Bank.
V
Take note of some important statistics that reflect the impact
that the MCFB has in our county. As of October 2007, the food
bank has: Assisted over 975 households totaling over 3,000+
hungry individuals. It takes an average of $3,000 per month to
meet these needs. Also the food bank is not funded or
supported by county, state of government funds or by Action,
Inc.
The food bank is 503b so all
donations are tax deductible. You
may make your donations
straight to the MCFB.
Thank you for your support.
Cindy R.
Concerned MCFB volunteer
✓
VOTE FOR
PHILIP
CROYA
Danilesville City Council
Hello, my name is Philip
Croya. I have lived in and
around Danielsville all of my
life. I am the Assistant
Transportation Director for Madison County Schools. I am
working on a bachelor's degree in business. My wife
Janet works as a Certified Pharmacy Technician in
Danielsville. Our son Keegan attends Danielsville
Elementary School. If elected I will do my best to serve
the residents of Danielsville. I will listen to your concerns
in all city matters. Our goal is to make Danielsville a
better place for us and all our children. I am asking for
your vote on March 17, 2009. You can vote now, until
March 13 from 8:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. On March 17 City
Hall will be open 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m.
I look forward to a chance to serve our city.
Thank you for your support,
Philip Croya