Local leaders reflect on major storm

VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – After two major storms in as many years, local leaders reflect on what they have learned.

Debris and power outages have been managed in the local community for two years in a row. Duke Energy District Manager Rick Burger says that the all power was restored in four days this year instead of six last year.

“The last place we got on here was Deerfield Subdivision, south of the city that was really hit hard,” Burger said. “Trees, trees, trees, trees everywhere. That was the major problem. We had to get those cleaned up before we started putting wires and our infrastructure back up.”

One of the biggest lessons learned from last year is better communication. Vigo County Commissioner Mark Clinkenbeard says agencies did a much better job with it this time around.

“I felt like the city government, county government, Win Energy, Duke Energy, EMA, we all communicated really well together,” Clinkenbeard said. “We believe our highway departments and city highway departments really worked hard to get things cleaned up as fast as possible.”

Above all, leaders felt that the community did their part to show appreciation during a hard time. Burger says people were offering refreshments to his crews.

“The acts of kindness,” Burger said. “‘Here’s some ice cream, wait a minute, I’ll fix you a cone.’ We did have that. We had people giving us Pop Tarts, we had someone pull up and give us a whole bunch of Pop Tarts and we really appreciate that. That’s from the heart in hard times. I’ll challenge this community against any other community, we’ll win.”

Both also said that the community response was great and helped guide a smooth cleanup process.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyWabashValley.com.