It has long been said that sometimes it takes the worst of situations to bring out the best in everyday people. This past week, East Central Indiana has proven to be no exception to the rule.
After a devastating and freak ice storm froze Muncie and surrounding areas solid last week, tens of thousands of residents were left without electricity, heat, hot water, cable, telephone and, in some instances, transportation. When residents and some lingering students began climbing from their icicle-covered homes and apartments Thursday, they soon realized that the storm's effects would be felt longer than first expected.
Some people attempted to make their way out to the handful of stores that were still open. Those without the ability or courage simply did their best to weather the storm's fallout while hibernating under layers of clothes and blankets in the darkness of the cold nights.
Meanwhile, over 1,800 American Electric Power employees from nearly 550 crews quickly departed their hometowns to assist the 83 mechanics that regularly service the area. They came from areas as far away as South Carolina and Georgia, and as nearby as Michigan, Northern and Southern Indiana.
The crews of Indiana Michigan Power and its parent, AEP, worked through the blustery cold nights to restore power to a peak of 114,000 customers who lost it Wednesday. Five days later, the crews continue to work on area lines. On one of the most crucial evenings of the outage, I&M restored power to nearly 24,000 Muncie residents between 4:30 p.m. Sunday and 11:15 a.m. Monday morning. As of press time, I&M expected 100 percent of its customers to have restored power by Wednesday: an impressive feat considering the amount of damage the storm left behind.
However, these employees are not alone in their generous hearts and efforts. The ice also knocked out many cable and telephone lines, leaving SBC and Comcast employees scrambling to reestablish service across the area, many of whom were without heat and power at home, just as the rest of us were.
Countless volunteers from the American Red Cross joined together with helpful area residents to assist those in greater need. Shelters opened to provide everything from a hot meal and shower to a warm roof to sleep under. Even Monday night, many of these shelters remained open for the decreasing number of residents without power.
It was a series of literally dark days that brought together the over 2,000 people, all in the interest of getting Muncie back up on its feet.
So, this morning, from the comfort of our (mostly) heated and electrified homes and workplaces, we salute each and every one of them for their efforts.
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