Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 5, 1994 TAG: 9403070140
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FLOYD LENGTH: Medium
And despite 1,300 reconnections on Friday, it looked as if many people in Floyd and other New River Valley localities would be waiting - again - through the weekend or longer for the lights to come back on.
As of 4 p.m. Friday, 17,120 homes and businesses were without power across Apco's Pulaski division, which includes the New River region, said utility spokeswoman Glenda Wohlford.
That was half the Thursday afternoon total, but of little consolation in rural Floyd County, where 4,250 of Apco's 5,660 customers lacked electricity at midday.
"This time, I think we got it bad," said Floyd County Administrator Randy Arno, who said this week's ice storm brought down limbs and trees across the county.
"I don't mean the small trees," Arno said. "It's a mess."
An emergency shelter was opened in the Floyd Rescue Squad building just north of downtown Floyd. Board of Supervisors Chairman Jerry Boothe declared a state of emergency - a step officials in Pulaski County also took.
Gasoline generators hummed beside country stores from Pilot Mountain to Copper Hill as shopkeepers kept their coolers and freezers running.
At the J&J Market on U.S. 221 a few miles from Check, Bill and Gayle Madison had seen a steady stream of customers stop in for batteries, soup and other items easy to heat up on a wood stove.
"We just have people come in to chat," Gayle Madison said. "They're so aggravated" by the second major power outage in recent weeks, she said.
That aggravation was compounded in one section of Montgomery County just south of Christiansburg. Apco crews restored power Friday, only to have tree limbs freed by the melting ice knock it out again, Wohlford said.
"It's been a battle over there," she said of the Montgomery-Floyd area.
At Slaughters' Supermarket beside Dodd Creek, L.C. and Gladys Vest were taking things in stride on their way in for groceries.
They lost power at their home near Beaver Creek on Virginia 705 for four days during last month's storm. Once again, they were relying on their wood stove for heat.
"We're in better shape than some people who have all-electric homes," Gladys Vest said.
The Bank of Floyd temperature sign showed a balmy 51 degrees in downtown Floyd on Friday. While only remnants of the snow and ice remained in lower areas and hillsides with southern exposures, the snow-covered higher regions of Floyd still had spots where roadside seeps had formed ice sculptures.
And just because there wasn't power, didn't mean there wasn't work to do out on the farm. Dairy farmer Kevin Mitchell and his workers had rigged a tractor to a generator to power milking machines in the barns just across Virginia 750 at Alum Ridge.
State highway workers, too, spent the day working hard to clear downed trees off secondary roads. Grader operator J.C. Thompson, a 20-year veteran, spent the morning moving debris off hard-hit Virginia 653 above Alleghany Springs.
"I've never seen anything like it," he said.
Seventeen state employees based at the shop in Check were out working 12-hour shifts to make sure eastern Floyd's 326 miles of roads were cleared, said Supervisor Wayne Sutphin.
"We hope to at least have all the trees moved off the roads by this evening," he said.
And while Apco crews worked to restore electrical service, utility spokeswoman Wohlford warned homeowners against accepting any bill from a tree-clearing crew claiming to work for Apco.
"It seems like there's always some con artist trying to take advantage of people," Wohlford said. "Tree trimmers working for Apco are paid directly by us. If somebody presents a bill, do not pay it."
by CNB