Red Cross quick to set up shelters
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The organization has spent the last two days talking to people and assessing damages from a special service center established at Lucky CIC. The Red Cross has distributed a number of vouchers from that location so victims can purchase essentials such as food and clothing, according to local director Kathy Nesmith.
?If you?ve had your home damaged or destroyed, we want to help,? said Nesmith. ?We want to reach out to everyone who needs assistance.?
After the service center at Lucky CIC closes, storm victims can still receive assistance by contacting the Red Cross at 473-2595.
When the tornado struck Friday evening, disaster volunteers were quick to act. The Red Cross set up two disaster shelters at Covenant Church and Lucky CIC, and had the Civic Center as a standby shelter if necessary. However Nesmith said not a single person was in need of shelter, staying with family and friends instead.
?Whenever there is a need, people here are always so eager to help,? said Nesmith. ?So it doesn?t surprise me at all people were able to stay at other places. And really that?s better because at times like these, people need their families.?
Nesmith said a drill had already been planned for Saturday to set up a disaster shelter at Covenant Church. When the tornado struck, the drill was canceled and volunteers went through with the real thing.
From a utility standpoint, Caney Fork Electric employees worked through the night Friday and had power restored to virtually all habitable homes early Saturday morning.
?We had everybody power who we could get up and running by 5:45 a.m. Saturday,? said Caney Fork general manager Hubert King. ?Of course that doesn?t include the houses that were destroyed or beyond repair.
?We?re still doing clean-up work and there were a few instances where people lost power Saturday, but the majority were back on around 5:45.?
King said 11 or 12 utility poles were broken and replacing those poles was a time-consuming task. He said a number of people lost power from trees falling across their line. Probably the biggest loss of power, he said, was a result of the Great Falls subdivision going down for several hours Friday evening.
King wanted to thank McMinnville Electric and Smithville Electric for their help and was pleased Caney Fork was able to restore power to its customers so quickly.
?From what it could have been, a very bad situation, everything went about as well as could be expected,? said King.