Some Stoddard County residents toughing it out without power, water

In the wake of the ice storm, people without power in Stoddard and Scott counties are choosing to tough it out at home, in some cases using camping equipment.

Harold Morrow of Dexter, Mo., said he's been cooking meals using an airstream trailer he keeps just for that purpose.

Though he's prepared, Morrow said the duration of the power outage has been trying.

"Nature got the upper hand on this one," Morrow said.

Doug Sutterfield of Chaffee, Mo., said he saw more than a dozen AmerenUE trucks in his city, but still had no power by late afternoon. He took his daughter to a friend's home to spend Thursday night, but he and his wife remained in their home.

"We're toughing it out," said Sutterfield, a volunteer firefighter. "But the elderly won't leave their homes. It's getting to where they're having to be picked up by an ambulance and taken to a hospital."

Several rural Stoddard County communities lost their water supplies.

Essex, a town of 524, has struggled without water for more than two days after the backup power supply being used for the city's water pumps failed.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency delivered some water to Poplar Bluff, Mo., Thursday, with plans for more Friday, according to John Prance, Stoddard County emergency management director.

A generator arrived in Essex shortly before 5 p.m. and within 90 minutes the water was being pumped into area homes, he said. Public Water District Water No. 4, near Dexter, is also using generators for water service. Both communities are under boil-water orders through 6 p.m. Sunday.

But Public Water District No. 1, southwest of Dexter, was still without water Thursday night, though a generator was promised by Friday. Generators are also being sent to such towns as Bernie, Mo., to operate the sewer system.

An additional 450 cots were delivered Thursday night with 300 more promised Friday, Prance said. More than 400 Stoddard County residents were using Red Cross shelters by Thursday night.

But many of the more than 10,000 without power in Stoddard County chose to stay at home.

For two days, members of the Harvest Assembly Church, Essex residents and firefighters' wives carted hot meals to people, many elderly, who refused to leave their powerless homes, said Leon Watkins, a firefighter with the Essex Fire Department.

"People in Stoddard County will look after one another, that's for sure," Julia Brown of Essex said.

As of 6 p.m. Thursday, nearly every home in Essex was without electricity, with the Essex One Stop the only business up and running, and Highway 114 through Essex was dotted with AmerenUE trucks trying to repair poles and lines snapped under the weight of the ice.

Nearly as many lines lay across the partially snow-covered roads than remained strung between poles, and felled trees lay across cars, fences and playground equipment.

Ameren workers had been coming into the warming center set up at Harvest Assembly Church for lunch and hot coffee throughout the day Thursday, Watkins said.

The church, running off a generator borrowed from the fire department, housed about 12 people Wednesday night, and were expecting more Thursday, Watkins said.

Blankets, canned goods and water are still badly needed; Richland High School donated frozen food to the relief efforts after losing power to its deep freeze.

Kim Roseberry said she's been gathering ice from around her storm-ravaged yard and using a gas stove to melt it to water for cleaning and household uses, saving bottled water for drinking.

"I know how to prepare and survive -- after a while, you have to learn the tricks," Roseberry said.

Brown said she used to help clear debris from disaster sites, including Hurricane Hugo, which devastated the East Coast in 1989. Essex "looks just like the disasters I used to go to," Brown said.

In nearby Dexter, 125 people sought warmth Wednesday night at the American Red Cross Shelter at the gymnasium, said Red Cross worker Teresa Neeley. By late afternoon Thursday, about 60 remained, after power had been restored to a small portion of the city.

Jason Franco, 8, of Dexter said he's been staying busy at the shelter by playing with other children, but he's eager to get home to check on his fish.

"I hope my fish is OK," Franco said.

Kathy Sanders of Dexter spent the first night at the Dexter fire station, which has a generator, because her mother's respirator requires electricity. she said.

"Without them, I'm afraid I would have lost her," Sanders said.

Tanya Noble of Dexter said that when local police arrived to bring her to the shelter because her car was iced in, it had gotten so cold she'd been wearing two coats and three pairs of socks.

Jamie Twomey of Dexter used his camping stove and grill to prepare meals at his home, and said he's taken the opportunity to spend time with his children playing in the snow.

They've worked on cleaning up debris left behind by the storm and "getting life back to normal," he said.

During the outages, Dexter grocery stores have opened even without any power, so people could still purchase food and supplies. Clerks added totals using calculators, Twomey said.

"Thank God we can still get by without machines," he said.

At Chrisman LP Gas & Oil Co. on Highway 25, owner Terry Burlison used a generator to stay in business. He said he filled about 400 bottles of gas a day, as opposed to the usual 10 to 20 refills.

Just after 6 p.m., the lights in Delta came back on and the Red Cross shelter there was closed.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

388-3635

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

388-3646

Stoddard County ice damage

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