By: Charles Romans
Carter County Times
Winter isn’t quite over; but even though spring has yet to breathe fresh life into the region, after the recent extreme weather conditions, most people have begun to make jokes about the 35-degree (and higher) ‘heat wave.’ Roads, for the most part, are clear and safe to travel. Any snow left over – and there isn’t much – has shrunk to dirty little mounds at the fringes of yards or at the roadside in the shadows of the many hills in our area. And soon even that will have melted away with no danger of being replaced by the brief flurries some of us have seen.
Still, the memory of the snow that was is fresh in our minds. And while those memories of our recent experiences with multiple inches of ice in temperatures far too cold to be melted by salt, and roads that were all but impassable, are still fresh, it might be a good idea to remember that there were folks who weren’t able to avoid the icy mess. Road crews fought the deep snow and frigid temperatures, and emergency crews still answered calls on roads that, in many areas, should have been avoided.
“This last couple of weeks has been tough,” Carter County Judge Executive Brandon Burton said during the Fiscal Court meeting in February.
Burton said that he and emergency director Jason Gillam were in constant contact during the weather event, and had probably spoken more during that time than they had for the last year.
“Our team has been really, really good the last few weeks,” Burton said. “And I say team because it has been all hands on deck.”
“I can’t say enough about the efforts of 911,” Burton continued. “They came when you couldn’t get out. They stayed late and didn’t even go home if we needed them to stay. They did everything they had to do to make sure the people of this county, if they called 911, there was someone there to answer their call. If they were out of heat, or they needed food, the team went. I can’t say enough how much I appreciate and thank you.”
Burton said that at the end of the day, for the people of Carter County, the team of first responders and other county personnel made sure that no matter what was going on, they answered the call. “When we call, you go,” Burton said. “No matter what was needed.”
Emergency director Jason Gillam echoed the judge executive’s sentiments, and added his own thoughts.
“I can’t say how impressed I am about how everyone in this county has come together during this emergency,” Gillam said. “We had two commercial structure fires, and everyone has reached out to help. Local businesses have donated food, and it was just amazing. It starts small. And luckily, we have a great team at emergency management. We have run to every corner of this county.”
The coverage of the county, Gilliam said, was due to everyone coming together at the beginning of the emergency and setting their minds to get through it. He said this emergency was the strongest he had ever seen the county respond, fighting response times hampered by frigid temperatures and inches of ice welded to the roadways. Police, fire, 911, and emergency management, he noted, all went above and beyond to respond to the needs of Carter County residents.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
