Princeton Times

Opinion

Discussion

July 6, 2012

Our view: Citizens, organizations help pick up the pieces

Princeton Times

PRINCETON — It’s easy to forget how fortunate we are when disaster strikes. When winds up to 80 mph blew into southern West Virginia last Friday, few of us knew what we were in for.

To tell the truth, we’re not exactly sure now, as storms linger in our forecast, and some of our neighbors haven’t regained electrical service in nearly a week.

As the derecho, or span of strong winds accompanying a series of severe thunderstorms, struck all of West Virginia and several neighboring states, we lost trees, we lost cars, we lost homes, and as of last count, more than 25 people even lost their lives in what has been called a “freak storm.”

Food in our freezers spoiled. Generators could not be found. We got hot. Sometimes our tempers even got hot, but we were still blessed.

Even amid all of the things we lost, West Virginians have many things to be grateful for.

As soon as the lights went out, there were those among us who set out to create safe places for the people who needed them.

In Princeton, the Princeton Rescue Squad offered up its training center as an emergency shelter and cooling station, where people without electricity or other needed services could find a place to sleep, get care and get back on their feet.

The Chuck Mathena Center, normally dedicated to expanding our minds with art and culture, set out to care for our health and ability to communicate with the world around us by offering a cooling station during its operating hours, complete with air-conditioning, Internet access, electrical outlets to charge phones, radios and computers, and a place to feel secure, even if only for a few minutes or hours.

With an estimated 688,000 West Virginians initially without electricity, recovering from Friday’s storm was a daunting task.

But, people stepped up to help us, and we stepped up to help ourselves. The proof was everywhere.

As motorists from Wytheville to Summersville descended on Princeton to purchase fuel for cars and generators, a local farmer sold a gas can to a pair of brothers who had been making their way from Indiana to the Northeast, when their car consumed its last bit of gas.

In one neighborhood, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said neighbors on one side of the street ran extension cords from their homes to the neighbors across the street without electricity, to fuel the essential appliances.

West Virginia National Guardsmen answered the call to duty to deliver fuel and help where needed.

People who could reach stores stocked up on water to share with those who had nothing cool to quench their thirst.

And electrical crews from as close as Kentucky and as far away as Canada gave up their holiday week to work 16-hour days to restore our power, even amid 97-degree temperatures and daily threats of more storms.

Yes, there’s no doubt these storms have been bad. But they could have been so very much worse, if we didn’t have each other to count on.

Thank you to all of the organizations who stepped out among a region of broken limbs and downed trees to shore us all up, and to all of the countless individuals who performed an act of service to ease someone else’s burden through the ordeal.

Text Only
Opinion
AP Video
30-Day Technology Challenge 30-Day Sex Challenge 30-Day Walking Challenge How One Recording Artist Lost 250 Pounds Papa Joe's 99 Cent Stores Diet Health Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet 30-Day Vegan Challenge Misconceptions and Pitfalls of Vegan Diet 30-Day Vegan Challenge: The Results Women's Colon Health Kid gets his haircut to help people with cancer Deborah Norville Teaches Rachael Ray & Regis Philbin to Sew Regis' Most Hilarious Moments with Rachael Ray Deborah Norville's "Inside Edition" Anniversary 3 Beauty Secrets for Summer Asleep at the Wheel ... and You Don't Even Know It! Lucy Liu's "Elementary"-Inspired Skills Best Pre and Post-Workout Foods The Best Breakfast Foods Dr. Travis Tries a Cold Press Juicer
Letters to Editor

Multimedia