Community digs out from winter storm

A large number of local power outages were reported as a result of a Winter Storm Blair that sent a blast of freezing rain and snow throughout Kentucky Sunday into Monday of this week.
In Montgomery County, most of the outages them centered in the Jeffersonville-Means area.
Emergency Management Director Greg Beam said the county received about 7 inches of snow and a half inch of ice depending on the location.
At one time there were 1,400 power outages reported in the county, which had been reduced to 502 by Tuesday morning, Beam said.
Those were all Clark Energy customers, Beam said.
During the height of the storm about 7 percent of county electrical customers were without power, he said.
Most of the outages occurred in the southeast portion of the county, including Jeffersonville and Means, Beam said.
At one point, 68 percent of Menifee County was without power, he said.
Jeffersonville Mayor Steve Barnes opened the community center as a warming center because of the outages and cold temperatures. 
He said Mt. Sterling may open a center if the need arises. That would be at the Montgomery County Health and Civic Center.
The Sterling House Inclement Weather Center has been open in recent days, including Jan. 2-7. The center is located at 123 E. High St. is opening with help from volunteers. Recent social media posts have noted that volunteers are present from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the house. If there are guests by 10 p.m. the center will remain open until 7 a.m. Volunteers are needed. To find out how to volunteer, visit the center’s social media page.
A number of local individuals or businesses also offered  assistance to those without power.
The county activated its Emergency Operations Center Sunday at the Courthouse Annex, where officials can meet and set forth a plan of action for dealing with the storm, rather than relaying information via phone, Beam said.
The center is equipped with televisions and computers to monitor the weather and road conditions. 
This aided in the response to the storm, he said.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office responded to a number of minor traffic accidents throughout the storm, officials said.
Beam said that fortunately most people headed the warning to stay off the roads and a number of local businesses closed their doors at the storm’s height Sunday into Monday, which also kept people at home.
Both city and county officials applauded the response to the storm.
The county road dept. was out Sunday morning when the storm first hit and worked throughout the day, Judge-Executive Chris Haddix said.
Many of them slept a few hours that night on cots at the road dept. and were back out Monday morning, Haddix said.
They were back at it Monday morning and worked until about 10 p.m. plowing and treating roads, he said.
Haddix said road dept. employees returned to work about 5:30 a.m. Tuesday.
“They’ve done a wonderful job,” he said. “I’m really proud of them.”
A number of traffic accidents were reported at Rocky Branch and U.S. 460 Sunday.
The sheriff’s office temporarily closed U.S. 460 in the area to clear the scene and allow the state highway dept. to treat for icy conditions, he said.
Sheriff David Charles applauded a local resident, Justin Lawson, for assisting with his tractor to get people back on the roadway and scraping until the state highway dept. could respond.
Charles was among those who praised the city, county and state highway road crews for all the hard work they put in keeping streets, roads and highways clear.
“(The public) has no idea the amount of dedication they have shown,” he said. “They have never failed when we have a time of need.”
Before some roadways were treated, Haddix said there were reports of trees falling in areas.
City Hall and county offices/the courthouse were closed Monday and Tuesday. The Fiscal Court workshop scheduled for Tuesday was also canceled.
Emergency Management, the Montgomery County Fiscal Court, city of Mt. Sterling, Mt. Sterling Police Dept., Sheriff David Charles, etc., all utilized social media to keep residents up to date on road/street conditions and pertinent information. 
Emergency Management now uses a color code system for winter weather travel advisories to alert the public with yellow, orange and red to announce road conditions. 
Mt. Sterling Mayor Al Botts said, “This was a challenging weather event for the city. Both the Public Works Dept. and the Mt. Sterling Police Dept. responded superbly to the storm. I could not be any prouder of them. We were fortunate that the storm moved through quickly and that we were able to address the snow accumulation and ice buildup in a timely manner. Public Works reported that 147 tons of salt was used to treat the streets, and that our vehicles accumulated almost 1,100 road miles in two days while trying to clear the streets. 
“Thankfully, we did not have any major power outages in the city limits, which was a huge concern for us, and especially for some of our most vulnerable populations. This was a trying event for us, but our team did well. We are now repairing and prepping our equipment for the next projected weather event this weekend. We will be ready,” Botts added.  
Mt. Sterling Police Lt. Aaron Noel said the Public Works Dept. did a tremendous job keeping streets and alleys cleared, which likely led to fewer accidents.
“They’ve done amazing,” Noel said.
Noel said the city was fortunate in that it only had a few minor accidents during the storm.
Montgomery County Regional Jail officials shared on social media that deputies drove through poor conditions, picked up fellow deputies, other deputies worked on their days off and some slept overnight on a couch at the jail to ensure the jail had adequate staffing during the storm.
Montgomery County Schools canceled classes Tuesday and Wednesday. Both were NTI days. School had been out for Christmas break, with teachers expected to return Monday, Jan. 6, for a planning day. Students were to return Jan. 7.
Despite the closure, Superintendent Matt Thompson said maintenance staff have been hard at work trying to make sure students can get back to classes as soon as possible.
“Our maintenance and custodial staff work hard to clear our entry ways, parking lots and sidewalks during winter weather events,” Thompson said Tuesday. “They brave the harshest conditions to help keep everyone safe. We had crews working as early as Sunday afternoon and each day since.  It is just really tough with the severity of the weather we experienced over the past couple of days.”
A number of local businesses closed early Sunday and entirely Monday, with some still remaining closed Tuesday due to weather conditions. Some local factories also shut down Monday or operated on delays Tuesday.
Rumpke has also adjusted its pickup schedule this week as result of the storm.
Hilary Ladig, senior communications coordinator for the company, told the Advocate Rumpke is operating on a one-day service delay schedule this week throughout central Kentucky.
Customers with Wednesday service will be collected on Thursday and customers with Friday collection will be picked up on Saturdays as road conditions allow, Ladig said.
“We don’t take the decision to suspend services lightly,” said Adam Rumpke, region vice president. “However, we must put the safety of our team members, our customers and the motoring public first.”
For the latest service updates, visit www.rumpke.com.
MORE WEATHER
Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency Jan. 6 ahead of Winter Storm Blair.
City and county officials were also bracing for further rounds of winter weather.
Beam said the forecast called for high winds and possibly another inch of snow Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
He said that was expected to possibly result in more tree limbs or utility lines down in local roadways.
Charles said the sheriff’s office command staff, which includes himself, Capt. Tommy Parker and sergeants, all carry chainsaws in their vehicles, and are willing to help get debris off the roadway if the need arrives.
“It’s a community effort when these things occur,” he said.
Charles encouraged the public to never drive over a downed power line and to instead turn around and go in another direction if they encounter one.
In Montgomery County, you can report a downed line at the Montgomery County Dispatch Center, 859-498-8720.
Continued cold temperatures were expected to further complicate the response and officials were worried about another blast of potentially heavy snow Friday into Saturday, Beam said.

State offices were closed Friday due to incoming weather.

Sheriff’s deputies will be equipped with extra clothing and supplies should they encounter stranded motorists, Charles said.
The city police and sheriff’s office both provide a medication delivery service to those who are shut in. Charles suggested contacting your pharmacy to arrange pickup and notify employees that a law enforcement vehicle may be picking up their medication.
They should then contact the Dispatch Center at 859-498-8720 to arrange delivery, he said.
Charles encourages the public to keep up to date on local road conditions by following the Sheriff David Charles social media page where regular updates will be posted.
He said the page received 479,000 views during the most recent weather event.
“That is our No. 1 way of talking to people when events are going on,” he said.
The public can also sign up through Montgomery County 911 Dispatch to receive targeted alerts, including those from the National Weather Service, with Montgomery County’s community alert system-RAVE Mobile Safety. Register your profile from phone/computer at https://www.getrave.com/login/montgomerycoky.