Tigermike 4,286 Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 After all the complaints about New Orleans, you’d think the Obama administration would be sensitive to this sort of thing: Life after ice storm dire, getting worse in spotsBy BRUCE SCHREINER, Associated Press Writer Bruce Schreiner, Associated Press Writer – Fri Jan 30, 6:35 pm ET MARION, Ky. – In some parts of rural Kentucky, they're getting water the old-fashioned way  with pails from a creek. There's not room for one more sleeping bag on the shelter floor. The creative are flushing their toilets with melted snow. At least 42 people have died, including 11 in Kentucky, and conditions are worsening in many places days after an ice storm knocked out power to 1.3 million customers from the Plains to the East Coast. And with no hope that the lights will come back on soon, small communities are frantically struggling to help their residents. On Friday, one county put it bluntly: It can't. "We're asking people to pack a suitcase and head south and find a motel if they have the means, because we can't service everybody in our shelter," said Crittenden County Judge-Executive Fred Brown, who oversees about 9,000 people, many of whom are sleeping in the town's elementary school. Local officials were growing angry with what they said was a lack of help from the state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In Grayson County, about 80 miles southwest of Louisville, Emergency Management Director Randell Smith said the 25 National Guardsmen who have responded have no chain saws to clear fallen trees. "We've got people out in some areas we haven't even visited yet," Smith said. "We don't even know that they're alive." Smith said FEMA has been a no-show so far. "I'm not saying we can't handle it; we'll hand it," Smith said. "But it would have made life a lot easier" if FEMA had reached the county sooner, he said. FEMA spokeswoman Mary Hudak said some FEMA personnel already are in Kentucky working in the state's emergency operations center and that more will be arriving in coming days. Hudak said FEMA also has shipped to 50 to 100 generators to the state to supply electricity to facilities like hospitals, nursing homes, and water treatment plants. Hudak said travel is still dangerous in some areas and communications are limited. "We have plenty of folks ready to go, but there are some limitations with roads closed and icy conditions," she said. From Missouri to Ohio, thousands were bunked down in shelters, waiting for the power to return. Others are trying to tough out the power outage at home, using any means they can to get basics like drinking water, heat and food. Lori Clarke was stuck at home in the western Kentucky town of Marion with trees blocking the road out. She trudged more than half a mile through snow and ice carrying 5-gallon buckets to bring drinking water for her horses and dogs and to flush her toilet. "When you live out in the country, you just shift into survival mode," she said. Even for those who wanted to leave, it wasn't possible. The one gas station in Marion that was up and running was able to supply gasoline to emergency vehicles only until another delivery of gasoline arrived Friday. Only half of that gas was made available to the public, and there was a $10 limit. Linda Young, who is staying the town's shelter, said her car only had enough gas in it to get around Marion. Even if she had gas, there was nowhere to go  all of her relatives in other parts of Kentucky also were hit by the ice storm. "For right now, this is the best we can do, so this is where we're at," said Young, as she sat on a mattress with her 9-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter. By midafternoon water service had been restored to the city of Marion thanks to a generator, while efforts continued to restore service to the outlying county, Police Chief Ray O'Neal said. Residents were being told to boil the water before drinking it. Meanwhile, the death toll was rising: Since the storm began Monday, the weather has been blamed for at least 11 deaths in Kentucky, nine more in Arkansas, six each in Texas and Missouri, three in Virginia, two each in Oklahoma, Indiana and West Virginia and one in Ohio, with most of them blamed on hypothermia, traffic accidents and carbon monoxide poisoning from generators. Among the latest deaths reported were those of a man in his 60s, a woman in her 50s and a woman in her 40s who were found in a southwestern Louisville home Friday. The younger woman was found in bed; the other two were found in the garage, along with a generator, police spokesman Phil Russell said. The fight to return power to Kentucky and other areas affected by the ice storm is difficult because of the sheer number of outages, but also because of the ice itself. Crews have joined the effort from around the country, but than a half-million homes and businesses were still out in Kentucky on Friday, along with roughly 78,000 in Missouri and 284,000 in Arkansas. Thousands more were still in the dark in Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia. "As ice is melting, power lines and tree limbs are springing upward and hitting other power lines," said Rita Alexander, spokeswoman for Gibson Electric Membership Corp. in Tennessee. "It is just an unpleasant part of the process." While generators were able to bring some water pumping stations back to life Friday, thousands still didn't have access to running water, and thousands more were under boil advisories. Roughly 200,000 people across Kentucky still don't have water. In Hayti, Mo., alderwoman Lisa Green said a temporary generator was in use to run the water plant, and power was being moved around to pump wastewater through the sewage system, she said. That wasn't enough. "Our water plant is up and running, but people are inundating it," Green said. The community has received some bottled water, she said, but needs more. A precious few had enough supplies to tough it out alone. Stephen Cates said his home was being warmed by kerosene heaters and an electric furnace powered by a generator that he waited 4 1/2 hours in line to purchase in Evansville, Ind. He was flushing his toilet with melted snow, and could even watch TV. "I'm living just like I have electricity, just about, eating hot food," Cates said. ___ Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Roger Alford in Leitchfield, Ky., Dylan T. Lovan, Rebecca Yonker, Brett Barrouquere and Janet Cappiello Blake in Louisville, Ky., Betsy Taylor in St. Louis and Randall Dickerson in Nashville, Tenn. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090130/ap_on_...r_storm_outages Hey Barack, you’re doing a hell of a job, what a stand up guy. Hope and change. Not! If Kentucky had voted for the Messiah would their plight be different? Link to comment https://www.aufamily.com/topic/55952-where-is-obama-where-is-the-fed-where-is-fema/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
au2004ece 30 Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Barack Obama hates white people. Link to comment https://www.aufamily.com/topic/55952-where-is-obama-where-is-the-fed-where-is-fema/#findComment-578479 Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiger88 934 Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 This is GWB's fault. He set a bad example for our savior. Link to comment https://www.aufamily.com/topic/55952-where-is-obama-where-is-the-fed-where-is-fema/#findComment-578480 Share on other sites More sharing options...
au2004ece 30 Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 This is GWB's fault. He set a bad example for our savior. Yeah, he didn't go arrest and transport all the idiots that refused to get out of the way of the Cat 5 hurricane they had 3 days pre-warning for. Link to comment https://www.aufamily.com/topic/55952-where-is-obama-where-is-the-fed-where-is-fema/#findComment-578483 Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiger88 934 Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 This is GWB's fault. He set a bad example for our savior. Yeah, he didn't go arrest and transport all the idiots that refused to get out of the way of the Cat 5 hurricane they had 3 days pre-warning for. Exactly! Then he didn't volunteer his services as an emergency aid worker. Link to comment https://www.aufamily.com/topic/55952-where-is-obama-where-is-the-fed-where-is-fema/#findComment-578487 Share on other sites More sharing options...
au2004ece 30 Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 This is GWB's fault. He set a bad example for our savior. Yeah, he didn't go arrest and transport all the idiots that refused to get out of the way of the Cat 5 hurricane they had 3 days pre-warning for. Exactly! Then he didn't volunteer his services as an emergency aid worker. Why would he do that when HE was the one that created Katrina with the presidential weather machine and made it attack those all black people? Now Obama has his hands on the weather machine and is targeting white people. Link to comment https://www.aufamily.com/topic/55952-where-is-obama-where-is-the-fed-where-is-fema/#findComment-578492 Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiger88 934 Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Why can't we all just get along? Why must Barrack hate all white people? Link to comment https://www.aufamily.com/topic/55952-where-is-obama-where-is-the-fed-where-is-fema/#findComment-578495 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin5 20 Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/weather/02/01/w...ther/index.html Link to comment https://www.aufamily.com/topic/55952-where-is-obama-where-is-the-fed-where-is-fema/#findComment-578614 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigermike 4,286 Posted February 2, 2009 Author Share Posted February 2, 2009 http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/weather/02/01/w...ther/index.html I must have missed it Justin, where was Obama mentioned in that article? BTW - While the "National Guard troops were going door to door Sunday in Kentucky, checking on families in the worst-hit areas of what Gov. Steve Beshear called "the biggest natural disaster that this state has ever experienced in modern history." Obama is working in his shirt sleeves in the White House because Obama doesn't like cold and had the thermostats turned up. And yes I have a link for that if you want it. In fact I think I posted something about it in these forums and the dims avoided it like the plague. http://www.aunation.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=55887 Link to comment https://www.aufamily.com/topic/55952-where-is-obama-where-is-the-fed-where-is-fema/#findComment-578636 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumps 3,706 Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/weather/02/01/w...ther/index.html Did you read the article you referenced? It was very informative. Apparently the state of Kentucky is trying to help itself with an unprecedented callup of National Guardsmen, not simply waiting for FEMA and crying about their situation. Certainly you would have thought that the sensitive new administration would be helping them out, but it looks like they are somewhat self-reliant. Also, it appears the the warnings of wind are current, not a warning to get people to leave before the event occurred. Link to comment https://www.aufamily.com/topic/55952-where-is-obama-where-is-the-fed-where-is-fema/#findComment-578638 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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