Local authorities praise emergency response amidst storm devastation

The devastation of Hurricane Helene has been felt in and around the local area.

Mason County Judge Executive Owen McNeill expressed his thanks to Emergency Management and various response teams in the local area.

“I cannot compliment our Emergency Management and Response Teams across Maysville and Mason County enough for all they do. From Director Tony Leise, who’s always monitoring these events for us with accurate timelines and impacts to our facilities and road department teams for both the city and county to our local law enforcement with Sheriff Swolsky and Chief Palmer, everyone goes above and beyond during these events to ensure citizens remain safe and we’re limiting damage,” McNeill stated.

McNeill noted that our response teams have been incredibly helpful.

“Additionally, our response travels further out into the County with all of our Volunteer Fire personnel, who greatly assist with awareness and response. Finally, it’s important to highlight our local utilities and their personnel. These teams work tirelessly to not only make scenes safe but also quickly get utilities restored. As issues and sites come in, our Emergency Ops Center not only monitors but also assists dispatch with active management of issues across Mason County. From our Road Department Teams to Sheriff Deputies to Emergency Management, we are incredibly grateful for their response to this storm.”

Lewis County Judge Executive George Sparks released a statement on his Facebook page expressing his gratitude for all emergency workers, first responders, road department workers, utility workers and volunteers who responded to the calls for help from Lewis County citizens and remarked that no major property damage or injuries had been reported.

“I appreciate the patience of those who are still affected by power outages, interruptions of telephone and internet services, and debris in roadways as we continue to address those issues,” said Sparks.

Flemingsburg Public Works Director Joe Dunaway Jr. noted they were blessed in the city with only one tree that had fallen across a street along with others that were minimal.

Fleming County Judge Executive John Sims Jr. expressed, “I would like to thank our road crews, first responders, sheriff’s office, police department and linemen that have been out working to restore our community back to normal that have came in to help.”

Marketing and Public Relations Manager at Fleming-Mason Energy Lori Ulrich noted that it is not every day that the state of Kentucky experiences a tropical storm and its power.

“We were monitoring the changing conditions closely in the preceding days. At the height of the damage, roughly 54 percent of our meters were off. As of today, under two percent of our total meters remain off. We currently have four additional cooperatives, multiple contracts and right-of-way crews helping us,” Ulrich explained.

She expressed that the FME crews were encountering damage that would be consistent with an event of strong wind due to the amount of poles that were broken and discovered power lines that were down.

“Damage of this magnitude requires a substantial cleanup, such as removing fallen trees before restoration can start. That has certainly slowed down the process. We are grateful for assistance from our fellow cooperatives, contractor and right-of-way crews along with the support to the communities we serve,” Ulrich said.