Ice and Snow!

We got some "snow days" from work! (Technically Ice Days, but I'm happy either way!)

I'm up here VERY close to this situation. I'm lucky in that the worst of this situation seems to start about ten miles north of my hometown. In the county where I live, there are still several thousand without power. (There are still hundreds of thousands without power in western Kentucky) Luckily, I never lost power at home (other than a few flickers), but nearby communities are disaster zones.

My one weather related disaster was smashing my car into a giant tree and telephone pole that ice had just brought down. And this was after the bad weather had ended and the street ice had melted. I had turned on an old city street at night, heading to the local post office. The street was completely black, no lights in any houses. I was thinking the power must be off and I was glancing from side to side at the homes when suddenly in my window was a very old, very LARGE tree which had split in two, falling completely across a wide street, bringing a telephone pole, electrical lines and cable with it. I slid into it with my brakes locked and did a number on the front of my car. It's pretty ugly, but driveable. C'est la vie. I'm looking at a couple of replacement vehicles right now on Ebay.

Around us though, there are counties where they may not have power for weeks. The next biggest town near us is pretty much totally black, and could be for two weeks. People have fled the area to stay in hotels both here and to the south of us.

In our town, we've seen incredible lines for gasoline, kerosene and supplies. State Police had to come out yesterday and announce that people couldn't sit on major roads in line for gas as they were a traffic hazard.

Murray State University (about 50 miles west of me) has been closed all week, as there is no power or water at the school.

Folks at the Cracker Barrel last night told me the two closest ones to them were closed for weeks because one had no power, and the other was under a boil water advisory.

Two of the people I work with had no power for several days and they live in town.

Biggest problem in getting things fixed is that there are LOTS of trucks here that can do the work, but the downed trees don't allow for the trucks to actually get to where they need to be.

At the CB last night, there were a LOT of electrical workers there. I talked to three different groups, from South Carolina, Alabama and Eastern Kentucky. All brought in to try and ease the workload.

Other than the car, my biggest problem this week was a couple of days where the cable was down, leaving me without TV, phone and internet for a short period. Compared to many, that is VERY small potatoes.

No need for that. It barely even jarred me. I just happen to be MUCH tougher than my vehicle!
As for the press, and as a member of that press, you ask a good question. There are over 25 people dead from this storm, 11 in Kentucky alone. Let a cold front hit Chicago and a couple of people die and it is major news nationwide. A lot has to do with timing and what else is in the news cycle.
For example, this past summer someone killed three children in a home near here, then raped and attempted to kill their mother. She survived with multiple stab wounds, escaped the home (which he had set on fire) and they found her floating in a swimming pool. I was AMAZED that this got no national coverage, as I've seen lesser stories captivate the news networks for days. They caught the guy a couple of days later. He actually lived about a half mile from me. He was a Direct TV installer who had been to their house to install a dish.
As for the elderly, the Red Cross and Salvation Army have certainly been doing their parts with shelters, etc., and I know a lot of the churches have too. I'm not as familiar in the worse hit counties as to what they're doing.

Kentucky was mentioned specifically on Google news about essentially being "encased in ice." Be careful! Is it getting any better?

Where I am, things are fine although some country roads still have a lot of tree debris blocking them. As I said, within 10 miles of here, there are war zone conditions. It's pretty amazing.
Some residents may not get electricity for a month or longer.

It's been a COOOOOOOLD winter everywhere I think. It's really interesting when a whole metro-area is without power. I was at my clients once when a bunch of their branches lost power because of a hurricane. It's like a 1 month vacation, except without power. And you can't go anywhere cause you might get power back any day.

I'm glad you're not hurt, MT. That must have given you quite a shock.

I have to agree that what gets top billing on national news networks is sometimes mystifying.

Is it "news" only if it sells?

Good afternoon!

MouseTraveler: Glad to see that you're OK. Because I live in New Jersey, I've heard little or nothing of the conditions in Kentucky. Even the impeachment of the IL governor, because he was banned from ever holding public office in that state, got more coverage (three or four paragraphs in the Philly Metro).

Kentuckians (including you) need our prayers right now.

Jim

Britain is apparently getting buried too! This is the coldest winter I can remember.