When the electrical repair crew from Indiana Michigan Power walked into Bruner's restaurant for breakfast Monday morning, they got something unexpected -- a standing ovation.
"This is the kind of reaction we've been getting from people all over," John Sampson, vice president of external affairs at Indiana Michigan Power, said.
During a power outage, customers usually call in to complain, but things have been different this time around, Sampson said. In the wake of the ice storm on Wednesday, IMP has received virtually no complaint calls.
"The workers are really impressed with all the friendliness they've gotten. From our perspective, we're very appreciative to our customers for their understanding," Sampson said.
Some local businesses have called to offer their services to the power company.
"Muncie Power Products called us earlier wanting to know if there was anything they could do to help out," Sampson said.
Officials from IMP estimated that as of 4 p.m. Monday there were still more than 22,000 customers in Muncie who were without electricity.
The power company has hired crews from several nearby states to help bring power back to these customers, Sampson said.
Ball State sophomore and Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity member Brandon Eichmeier said he experienced the storm's effects first-hand.
"On Tuesday we had some confusion with the water company, and the water at the house got turned off. We got all that sorted out Wednesday afternoon, and then an hour later the power turned off. We didn't know what to think," Eichmeier said.
Eichmeier said that one of his fraternity brothers came in with news that his house in Yorktown, most of Muncie and probably the entire county were without power.
"We thought somebody had forgotten to pay the bill or something until he came in," Eichmeier said.
Many of the brothers at Sigma Phi Epsilon went home. The ones who decided to stay sat around in coats and blankets and played Trivial Pursuit: 90s Edition.
Ball State Senior Breiana Cecil said she was in the middle of cooking when the power went out.
"My house stayed warm for a while, but by 5 p.m. or so I was lying in bed with a lot of blankets on and candles burning," Cecil said.
Soon after, Cecil said she got a call from a friend on 10th Street whose house still had electricity.
"There were 10 people staying in this one house," Cecil said. "I guess I wasn't the only refugee."
For two days they sat around and played Candy Land, listened to music and basically tried to keep their sanity, Cecil said.
Sgt. Rhonda Clarke of the Ball State University Police Department said the UPD has done a great deal to assist Ball State students affected by the ice storm.
"We took a lot of calls this weekend from parents and students wondering if there were going to be classes on Monday and if the campus would have power," Clarke said.
UPD officers also provided callers with information about Muncie-area shelters and drove people who could not get to the shelters by themselves.
On Monday morning, officers from the UPD directed traffic at the scramble light, which due to the power outage had become a four-way-stop.
"We wanted to make sure the students were safe, especially the ones that were crossing the street. We didn't want any accidents or anything," Clarke said.
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