Ice storm: Stories of rigor, heroism, kindness

"Once in a lifetime" is losing some of its edge in describing the ice storms that have hit Southeast Missouri and surrounding areas in recent years. This year's blast of freezing rain, sleet and snow was, without a doubt, a monster. Hundreds of thousands of homes, businesses, schools and other public buildings have been without power across several states.

When entire communities lose electricity, all the conveniences we take for granted disappear: groceries, water, fuel -- and the list goes on. Through all of this, power companies tackled the outages like an army repelling invaders. AmerenUE alone brought in 4,000 linemen with their specialized vehicles to help the resident crews replace utility poles and restring vital wires and cables. Just imagine the logistics of feeding and housing 4,000 men and women in an area where hotels and restaurants were few and far between -- and the hotels that were open in nearby cities were filled to capacity. At one point last week there were no hotel rooms available in all of Southeast Missouri. Anyone seeking shelter in a hotel or motel north of the storm-stricken area had to go to the St. Louis metropolitan area.

Meanwhile, road crews were working day and night to clear highways and streets. The thick layer of ice under several inches of snow made the task doubly hard. Plows quickly removed the snow layer, exposing the treacherous ice that required heavy-duty equipment to break up and push aside.

Most folk have seen opportunities to help one another in ways large and small. Neighbors helped clear driveways. Homes with power were opened to those without heat. Warming centers and overnight shelters took in hundreds of storm victims looking for a bit of warmth and something to eat. It make take several days -- or even weeks in some instances -- to get back to anything resembling normal in the hardest hit areas. In the meantime, the stories of heroism and kindness make us proud of our friends and neighbors across this ice-covered region.