Tulsa World: Most in town lose power

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Most in town lose power
An Adair County community is walloped by the winter storm.

Limbs felled by an ice storm rest on a house in Westville on Wednesday.RHETT MORGAN/Tulsa World

By RHETT MORGAN World Staff Writer
Published: 1/29/2009 2:43 AM
Last Modified: 1/29/2009 2:49 AM

WESTVILLE — The gravity of this week's ice storm weighed on Mary Hopkins.

Speaking through tears, the Westville resident recounted Wednesday how the storm had zapped her trailer's electricity, dropped a tree limb through the back glass of her 2001 Saturn and separated her from her beloved Chihuahuas.

"It's terrible," Hopkins said from a seat in the Assembly of God, where the American Red Cross is operating a shelter. "No electricity, limbs everywhere. My car got messed up ... My little dogs are in the trailer. I'm worried about my little dogs. I've had them since they were babies."

Similar scenes continued to play out Wednesday in parts of northeastern Oklahoma hit hardest by the storm.

The aftermath was apparent in the small Adair County town of Westville, where ice-covered tree limbs ripped down power lines and blocked streets, cutting off electricity to about 70 percent of the residents, said Mayor Brian Sitsler.

According to the National Weather Service, ice as thick as an inch formed in large portions of Cherokee and Adair counties — areas hit hardest by the storm Monday and Tuesday.

Westville municipal employees used backhoes to clear streets Wednesday and went door-to-door to check on residents. Police Chief Jarrod Brown urged people to stay indoors, cautioning them to watch out for falling limbs if venturing outside.

A rural firefighter from the area was injured this week when a tree limb came through a driver's side window, Brown said.

In Tahlequah in neighboring Cherokee County, William M. Johnson, 83, was one of 46 people staying at a Red Cross shelter there.

He lost power Tuesday afternoon in his rural home near Lake Tenkiller.

Johnson, who cannot drive at night because of vision problems, said Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers who called to pick him up had to use chain saws to cut through fallen and leaning trees to make it along the road that led to his house, a task that took about two hours.

After the troopers arrived and got him into the vehicle, it took another hour to get to the shelter as the rescue crew cleared or went around trees that had fallen over the path they had cut, maneuvered along icy roads and crashed though low hanging and ice covered branches, eventually arriving at the shelter around 3 a.m.

"The road was a sheet of ice," Johnson said. "But there were also limbs hanging down. I just knew one of them were going to break the windshield. It was just part of the job as far as they (the troopers) were concerned, but they really took a beating coming in."

Powerless days

Statewide, a third person died in a storm-related vehicle crash. Rosemary Rice, 63, of Wellington, Kan., died after the vehicle she was driving went out of control on a patch of ice on a Kay County road and rolled about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. A passenger, Krystle Scobee, 21, of Wellington, Kan., was taken by helicopter in critical condition to a Wichita hospital, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said.

Meanwhile, conditions in Tulsa improved as much of the ice and snow began melting on treated streets and highways.

Officials cautioned, however, that the slush and water on many roads and sidewalks would refreeze at night, causing hazards for motorists and pedestrians.

"We're in pretty good shape. We had a lot of melting (Wednesday) and we appreciate it," said Paul Strizek, Tulsa Public Works spokesman.

Officially, Tulsa received 1.9 inches of snow and sleet, with about a quarter of an inch of ice initially covering exposed surfaces at the onset of the storm, according to the National Weather Service.

But areas east received an inch or more of ice, causing thousands to lose power. Officials said it could be days before power is restored to most.

Making the best of it

In Westville, 18 people stayed overnight Tuesday at the Westville Red Cross Shelter and a dozen or so milled about the church Wednesday morning.

Among them were four generations of the Virginia Strickland family, including parents Kenneth and Jane Hart.

Strickland's home has no electricity and no water because the family uses a well dependent on electrical power. Virginia's husband, Bill, is a cancer survivor (who's had a laryngectomy) and is dependent on electricity because he uses a nebulizer — a device that helps deliver medications to the lungs, she said.

"I've been through earthquakes in California and floods," said Virginia Strickland, a former Loma Linda, Calif., resident. "In an earthquake, you can't go anywhere. At least here, you can get away from it. My granddaughters thought it was kind of neat because we had to sit in one room with flashlights."

Her mother, Jane Hart, sat in the shelter Wednesday, scribbling a poem of gratitude on a paper towel.

"I wanted to thank the firemen and everybody," she said. "I like to write thank-yous. We just don't appreciate people sometimes as much as we should."

Hart, 80, read her prose to the captive audience.

"When the power went out, we began to shout, 'Turn it back on.'

As the hours went by, we began to cry, 'Please, turn it back it on.'

Then we went to bed, covered up our head and waited for day.

Then came the call, 'Listen up you all. Help is on its way.' "

World staff writer Clifton Adcock contributed to this story.

Rhett Morgan 581-8395
rhett.morgan@tulsaworld.com

As Oklahomans huddle in shelters, Red Cross seeks assistance

Red Cross officials said Wednesday they still have five shelters open and have closed one in Eufaula.

The five shelters, the number of people staying overnight into Wednesday and expected to stay overnight Thursday were:

Cookson: Cookson Community Center, 31521 S. 540 Road. Shelter opened Wednesday; several expected Thursday night.

Muskogee: First United Methodist Church, 600 E. Okmulgee. Overnight stay was 12; few, if any, expected Thursday night.

Stilwell: First Baptist Church, 801 W.Hickory. Overnight stay was 18; about the same expected Thurdsay night.

Tahlequah: First United Methodist Church, 300 W. Delaware. Overnight stay was 46; about the same expected Thursday night.

Westville: Assembly of God, U.S. 62 East. Overnight stay was 18; 10-15 expected Thursday night.

A total of 53 Red Cross volunteers and employees are working in the agency’s Tulsa Emergency Operations Center and at shelters, spokeswoman Nellie Kelly said.

The Red Cross anticipates the sheltering operation will cost $92,000, which covers supplies, food, cots and transportation for Monday through Wednesday nights, Kelly said.

Red Cross officials also said there is a dire need for blood.

Special drives will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Dillards in Woodland Hills Mall, 7021 S. Memorial Drive, and at Center Court at Tulsa Promenade mall, 41st Street and Yale Avenue.

For more information, or to make a donation, go to www.tulsaworld. com/redcross.

By RHETT MORGAN World Staff Writer

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	Report Comment missy...m, my town (1/29/2009 3:02:23 AM) How sad about losing power and then to have your car messed up by mother nature all at one time is a shame.Burrrr its cold out too.
	Report Comment chase, rogers county (1/29/2009 7:44:38 AM) No jimbo,just you.
	Report Comment MamaMia, Jenks (1/29/2009 9:32:29 AM) PDUL - You read this somewhere, didn't you? Very stange.
	Report Comment sauerkraut, Columbus (1/29/2009 11:36:31 AM) I don't understand why so many people allow tall trees to grow next to their house. I have cut down all tall trees when I moved into my current house. Ice, high winds,floods, lightning, and twisters can bring any tree crashing into a home. Trees are fine but the they belong in a forest or far from where people live. Tree roots crack sidewalks and driveways, damage pipes and drainage systems that cost thousands of dollars to fix, and tress make a mess in the fall. I like trees but not near my home.
	Report Comment Mistic_wolf, tahlequah (1/30/2009 12:46:46 PM) Its a sad thing that has happened. Me and my daughter were in this and it hit us hard. There were so many family's that are without power. And won't get it back on tell Monday. I pray that everybody is ok.
	Report Comment 52favoriteteacher, Southwest Trojans Rock! (1/30/2009 3:33:36 PM) Hey RHETT Good story--we lost power about 2 hours on Thursday. It was sweet to have our wood stove, we were toasty and warm; always have a backup plan Sad to hear about the ones thast are freezin tho...

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