Saturday, January 30, 2010

Ice Storm of 2010

Snyder residents are beginning day three of no power and the first day of no water with ice covered trees and a thin layer of snow on the ground.

According to Terry Taylor, Snyder Police Department, water should be back on by tonight. The National Guard is bringing a FEMA generator from Oklahoma City for the water plant.

I spoke with PSO this morning and their latest estimate for power restoration is 11 p.m. Tuesday.

Emergency shelter is being provided at First Baptist Church for anyone who needs a place to stay and/or a warm meal. Working with the Red Cross and Salvation Army, they have food, water, and cots and have rented a generator for power. Pastor Jeff Flowers said they fed 60 people last night and had six overnight guests. Soup was being prepared for today's lunch when I spoke with him. He said food had been brought in by the school and Salvation Army and many others.

The Snyder Police Department phone, 580-569-4115, is being manned 24/7 with officers on duty to provide any help needed. Officer Terry Taylor reported there have been no fires or major emergencies so far. Officers Taylor, John Phipps, reserve officer Adam Ney, and Jerry Taylor have been manning the police department and patrolling.

Most of these arrangements are due to the efforts of Snyder Vice Mayor Teresa Mills. After realizing the police phone was not working yesterday morning, and finding the mayor at home in his pajamas and city business with no guidance, she took matters in hand and started contacting people to get phone service set up and personnel in place to handle the emergency. She worked with Water Superintendent Mark Shelton and electrical contractor Stan Holland to contact FEMA to get the generator on its way, and with FBC getting the shelter set up.

In addition, Mills has gone door to door several times in the freezing cold, checking on residents in Snyder and Mountain Park to make sure everyone was safe. This community owes her a debt of gratitude for all she has done.

Levi Moss, Kiowa County District 3 EMS, said they initially transported critical patients from Ayers Nursing Home to Frederick Hospital where they had power, and have kept tabs on several area oxygen patients to assure that they are ok. They also rescued some Roosevelt residents who were trapped in their homes due to the ice. He was pleased to report there have been no accidents due to the ice and roads are clearing. EMS also assisted in setting up the shelter at FBC.

All in all, even though some of us may think we have it rough, we are fortunate to have people working to take care of things, and we hopefully will come out of this no worse for wear. If nothing else, we have learned some things that need to be done for future emergencies.

Again, for assistance, call Snyder Police Dept., 569-4115 or First Baptist Church, 569-2944.