2015 03 15 ice storm

ICE STORM 2015

Special Supplement to the

Herald-Citizen, Sunday, March 15, 2015

Page 2 — ICE STORM 2015 — Sunday, March 15, 2015

ICE STORM 2015

Thank You Putnam County RANDY PORTER Putnam County Executive

As someone who has spent my life preparing for and responding to emergencies, I know all too well the team effort required to prevent loss of life and major heartbreak. Being the Putnam County Executive for only six months before the ice storm struck our state last month, I had no idea what a whole team effort would look like when it was half of our

county that needed help.

From the time the Putnam County Emergency Management Agency made the call to activate the Porter County’s Emergency Operations Center, all the way through the events that took place in the weeks that followed, I could not be more proud of our community and the collaboration among

everyone.

Working from our operations center in Monterey, we watched neighbors helping neighbors, strangers helping strangers, and human kindness in its purest form. The true heart of our community is its people, and this disaster was a great reminder of how wonderful the people of Putnam County are.

I want to say a special thank you to all the emergency service agencies (Putnam County and those that came

from other cities within the county) who responded so quickly and without hesitation. To the county highway department who worked so diligently to clear the roads, and all the other county departments who pitched in and did what was asked of them, even if it wasn’t their daily job. Also a special thanks to all the state departments and agencies who worked with us as a team to recover from the disaster.

To the community organizations,

More than being just a good neighbor

Mayor: ‘It was an extremely unsettling and frightening time’

By RANDY EVANS Cookeville Chief of Police

By BILL WIGGINS Mayor of Monterey Ty Kernea | Herald-Citizen

The devastating ice storm three weeks ago literally brought Monterey to its knees and left us in the dark, isolated and virtually paralyzed what with the total blackout brought on by the massive power outage and all roads leading in and out of Wiggins town either ordered closed or blocked by fallen trees, large limbs, snapped utility poles and downed lines.

It was an extremely unsettling and frightening time.

It was also abundantly clear from the get-go that the management of this disaster was well beyond the capabilities of our city assets-equipment and personnel.

However, all our city departments held up their end by willingly responding as champions and worked to near exhaustion in meeting the needs of our citizens, many in dire straits, and coping with all the challenges of the aftermath. In fact, they are still at it working feverishly to meet expectations and make good on obligations and responsibilities. We plead for the public’s patience and forbearance. We will finish the clean up in good time.

Once the Putnam County Emergency Management Agency received our S.O.S, the County’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) set up shop in our Emergency Services Building as a command post in short order and hit the ground running. It was amazing to watch the EOC with its many moving parts; all synchronized and on task until every objective was realized and every known resource exploited. Those resources included county, state and federal departments and agencies, legislators, relief organizations as well as local volunteers and volunteers from across the Southeastern United States.

The EOC was not only staffed by savvy professionals but, most significantly, their motivation appeared to be rooted in sheer compassion and an unwavering commitment to alleviate human suffering, anxiety and need. They and all their allies were, indeed, a godsend to Monterey and all of eastern Putnam County during their two week stay on the Mountain.

We have so many people to recognize and thank. The large billboard on East Stratton Avenue between Reed’s and VEC expresses our heartfelt sentiments and gratitude in a powerful but simple sentence: “THANK YOU FOR HELPING US!”

clubs, businesses, churches, and individuals who came to the aid of your fellow citizens directly affected by the storm, your kindness did not go unnoticed and words cannot express the gratitude for all you did.

Please continue to keep the citizens of eastern Putnam County in your thoughts and prayers as they recover from the damage and please accept my humble thanks to everyone who helped ensure that our community was taken care of.

This billboard in Monterey displays the sentiments by so many people regarding the ice storm of 2015.

Sacrificing for the needs of others

By BILL RANDOLPH Monterey Police Chief

On the morning of Saturday, February 21, 2015, the personnel of the Monterey Police Department made the decision to sacrifice the needs of their own families who were without electricity to help ensure the safety and well being of each citizen in this community. These officers went far above and beyond their scope of duties during this ice storm. The officers of this department personally helped with the removal of broken trees and limbs from the roadways and driveways, checking on people who were stranded in their homes without electricity or heat and without medical needs. Officers drove to the assisted living homes and went to the doors of the elderly and tried to persuade each of them to let the officers transport them to the shelters that were set up and staffed by the Red Cross and other caring members of this community. The officers parked their vehicles and physically walked door to door to every home inside the city limits of Monterey and many homes that were outside the city limits.

Many of these officers worked around the clock delivering food, water, medical supplies, hot meals while helping stranded motorists who had either ran off the roadway or just got stuck in

the snow along the way. They helped to clear the main roads so that volunteer citizens and first reponders Randolph were able to get to those who were still in need of help. They disbursed propane tanks from the police department for people needing it for heat or to cook, they provided around the clock security for the food distribution center and for the shelter during hours of operations and after hours to ensure from thefts and from vandals. We also tried to keep someone at the police department to answer the influx of out of town calls from family members wanting to check on their loved ones all while still having to answer all the routine calls for service that were still coming in. The employees of this department would first and foremost like to thank God for providing for and keeping our own families safe while we were away from them and for keeping us healthy and safe during this tragedy. None of this was done for recognition but out of love and dedication to the uniform and badge that we wear and out of love for the community that puts their safety in our hands. The Monterey Police Department was overwhelmed and could not

have accomplished all of this on our own, which is why it makes each of us proud to live in an area where other law enforcement departments do not sit by the phone and wait for a call before starting to help. Putnam County Sheriff Eddie Farris and his department, Cookeville Police Chief Randy Evans and his department, Algood Chief Gary Harris and his department arrived here in Monterey without a phone call and with work clothes on ready to do whatever was needed and whatever was asked of them. This department would like to say thank you for the bottom of our hearts for all of your help and assistance during the ice storm and afterwards during the clean up. Also giving special recognition to our reserves with the Monterey Police Department who are all volunteers and receive no wages for their services and many took time off their day time jobs to give their unconditional service.

Officers involved: Officer Jerry Clark, Officer John Mackie, Officer Donathan Durham, Officer George Wyatt, Officer Gregory Phillips, Detective Mike Phillips, Sgt. Larry Bates, Sgt. Chad York, Pam Phillips.

Reserve officers involved: Robert Deportere, Jesse Wilson, Don Campell, Andrew Miller, T.J. Demartino, Justin Ray, McKayla Bates, and Mark Kennedy.

The effect of the recent ice storm on the Cookeville community was, by comparison to other parts of Putnam County and the Upper Cumberland area, much less severe. However, it did have a significant impact on our community. The response to the problems and issues it caused was nothing less than amazing. Public works, utility crews and public safety personnel responded with a level of determination, dedication, and professionalism that I think exceeded the expectations of most of our citizens.

It should also be noted that our citizens themselves greatly contributed to the overall successful response to this crisis.

Their patience and cooperation and their willingness to help others far exceeded the paradigm of “just being a good neighbor.” It was evident by everyone’s response that we

live in a truly special place.

Because our immediate area was able to react to and manage our own issues Evans and problems fairly quickly, we were able to offer assistance to others. From citizens collecting essentials for use by our neighbors in need to sending Cookeville Police officers to Monterey to assist with doorto-door welfare checks, everyone offered to assist in some way.

Our extended community is very blessed (and deserving) that public safety and law enforcement personnel serving this area are a model of teamwork and cooperation.

We have been humbled by the overwhelming expressions of gratitude we’ve received from many citizens. We take great pride in saying ‘thanks but this is our job and we are proud to do it’.

Glad to help Monterey

By GARY HARRIS ALGOOD POLICE CHIEF

The winter weather devestation affected the Upper Cumberland but others were hit harder than the rest. We only had minuscule amount of damage compared to Monterey. Our power outages only lasted little over an hour. We knew our duty was to help. Shortly after receiving the text alert advising a meeting was taking place at the Emergency Operations Center, I sent an officer over to aid. Algood personnel from police, fire, and public works responded to Monterey.

We also began collecting donations. Within moments of posting to social media, community members began bringing in items from bottled water to blankets. We transported around

15 loads of donated items to the Monterey Disaster Relief Center. Our officers assisted by checking on perHarris sons without power and blocking roadways. Our fire department and public works assisted by cutting trees and clearing the hazardous roadways. We were also fortunate to be able to utilize our Spanish speaking officer. He helped by reaching out to the Hispanic community in Monterey.

I personally assisted by helping to secure the Emergency Operations Center and keeping volunteers and the staff safe. We are beyond thankful we were able to assist in the capacity that we were.

Law enforcement’s role in responding to natural disasters

By EDDIE FARRIS Putnam County Sheriff

For the past two weeks, our community has endured one of the worst winter storms in its history. After a week of extreme winter weather that caused more than 30 wrecks and multiple injuries, we were hit by a devastating ice storm with high winds that left the eastern portion of our County looking like it had been hit by multiple tornados. In such a situation, your law enforcement community plays two vital roles: first and foremost, we are to continue to provide for the safety and security of our community and yet during times of crisis, we also become first responders working in tandem with other emergency services to provide vital services to those in need.

For many of our community’s residents, this natural disaster has had a devastating impact. However, for those of us in law enforcement, we are responsible for the impact on an entire county and region. We must be equipped to respond and provide services to those directly affected as well as those in unaffected areas. In Putnam County we have approximately 400square miles and 76,000 permanent residents that require our services.

In my 26 year career I have witnessed heroic efforts by many of my law enforcement colleagues, however, I am humbled by the actions of so many in our law enforcement community this past week.

Many of our personnel live in the area and were directly impacted by the storm just as our residents were. I am proud to say

that we have had deputies and officers working around the clock, leaving their families with loved ones or at home to fend for themselves so that they could report in for Farris duty.

Every deputy and police officer is aware that emergency management planning is for all hazards and that it takes a team effort to keep our communities safe. We ask a tremendous amount of our first responders during disasters and emergencies. Our ability to respond to and recover from disasters is directly influenced by how well prepared our first responders are and how well we all work together as a team before, during and after a crisis.

With this in mind, as soon as we learned of the impending snow and ice storms, I along with my law enforcement colleagues began coordinating efforts and resources. This included canceling all leave and days off as well as ensuring that we positioned resources in areas that have traditionally been hard to respond to under such conditions.

Once a State of Emergency was declared, we enacted Mutual Aid Agreements with our municipal law enforcement agencies to allow for voluntary cooperation and assistance of a routine law enforcement nature across jurisdictional lines. Without delay, and once they were able to ensure that they had adequate resources to continue uninterrupted services to their residents, myself and Chiefs Bill Randolph,

Randy Evans and Gary Harris of the Monterey, Cookeville and Algood Police Departments, respectively, began to coordinate our response to the hardest hit areas in Putnam County. We also worked within the guidelines of FEMA’s National Incident Command System to support incident management requirements including, but not limited to, force and critical infrastructure protection, security planning and technical assistance, technology support, and general law enforcement assistance in both pre-incident and post-incident situations.

During a disaster, law enforcement plays a key role in many operations including: search and rescue, evacuations, door-todoor checks, and maintaining overall public safety with the community. Before the storm, local law enforcement handled more than 30 crashes due to icy road conditions, snow and fog. They continued to fight crime, chasing subjects through ice and snow to apprehend them, and responding to hundreds of calls from frightened residents who needed information about travel safety and where to contact utilities and other services.

During the storm, our deputies and officers performed a wide variety of services such as locate and notify, delivery of food and water, cutting of trees and clearing of roadways and residential areas, and securing hard hit areas and unsafe roadways.

In the aftermath of the storm, residents were understandably desperate for information and our deputies/officers used traditional as well as new communications tools such to warn and inform residents of

vital safety information. For instance, one of our reserve deputies worked with Algood PD to post a video on the scene of a mountain road saying it was closed and not safe. Other deputies used Neighborhood Watch FaceBook pages to distribute emergency management information for their residents.

Now that the storm has passed and our community is trying to “get back to normal”, please know that your law enforcement community is still here to help you and protect you. We are continuing to do high visibility patrols to protect areas that have been damaged or still do not have power. We are also investigating scams by unscrupulous individuals who are trying to make exorbitant profits at the expense of storm victims. If you hear of anyone who is charging inflated fees or requesting upfront payments for work that does not get completed, please contact the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office at (931) 528-8484 as soon as possible so that we can protect our residents from being taken advantage of.

Finally, I would just like to thank all of our residents for all of the random acts of kindness they have performed all over the county. From muffins and coffee handed out of car windows to our deputies working traffic control, to donations of food and money for storm victims, and hundreds of community service hours served by so many; it truly speaks to the quality of our community and makes me proud to say that I am from Putnam County, Tennessee.

On behalf of our law enforcement community, I thank you all!

ICE STORM 2015 — Sunday, March 15, 2015 — Page 3

ICE STORM 2015

Fire chief: ‘Trees were falling faster than we could cut them’

By KEVIN PETERS MONTEREY VOLUNTEER FIRE CHIEF

It started at 3:10 a.m. on Feb. 21 with a call to 615 Industrial Dr. (Phillips 66 Station). It took me about twice as long to get to the scene because all of our vehicles were covered with about an inch of ice. The alarm had malfunctioned because of a power surge.

We went back to the fire station and at 3:37 a.m. got a call to help the ambulance that was stuck on the ice just past Perdue. We got the ambulance out and they were going to transport the patient to Cookeville Regional. We told dispatch we would follow the ambulance to the interstate.

On the way, the ambulance stopped in the middle of the road, so I went around and saw trees across the road. My son, Lieutenant Stephen Peters, and I started cutting a path just big enough for the ambulance to get through. The ambulance went through and stopped a few hundred feet in front of us because more trees were down across the road.

At this time, Fireman Hershel Bohannon caught up to us with another chainsaw and we started cutting. Trees were falling faster than we could cut them, some falling within feet of us and the ambulance. After about 30 minutes, we finally got the ambulance out, and my son said we needed to get out of there because of the large amount of tress along that stretch of road.

We went to the fire station and were putting on new chains and filling the saws with oil and fuel. At 5:14 we got a call that power lines were down between a pole and a house. The lines were isolated to the one resident’s at this time.

Then at 5:23, another call came in of a possible structure fire, trees and tree tops were falling more and more. The streets were covered with trees and tree limbs so I told the other two trucks to stay at the start of the street. There was no fire, but the resident was so worried that her trailer was on fire so I calmed her down and told her the transformer had blown and the electric line had arced against her trailer.

A town on fire?

As I started to leave her house, all I could see was a bright orange glow and sparks over the downtown business district, I thought the entire downtown was on fire because the glow that was produced by the low clouds and freezing rain. There was no fire, but multiple transformers were blowing and main power lines were breaking by the weight of the ice, and trees falling on the lines.

At this time the power grid for the entire town and surrounding area shut down. The ice was about an inch thick on the lines and trees. We had fire trucks blocking the main lines that had fallen around the downtown area because we did not know if the power was still trying to come back on or not.

By this time, more firemen had made it to the fire station. I picked up Captain Darren Hicks and started to help Lieutenant Mike Looper make it to town from Buckner Road. He was trying to cut his way to town and we were going to try and cut to him. We started cutting and for every tree we cut two or three would fall. We worked for over an hour and made it about 400 yards with trees falling close to us and my vehicle. Trees were falling behind us so I told them we had to try and get back to town. It took us about 30 minutes to cut our way back out stopping to help someone remove tree limbs from off his truck and driveway.

We were going to the downtown area where they still had the road blocked when we got a call to a possible structure fire on Hillwood Street. We tried three different routes and one hour and 30 minutes later told dispatch we could not make it to the call.

Stuck on the hill The fire engine enroute to the call got stuck on the top of the hill just above Perdue and the road was a solid sheet of ice. Fireman Johnny Bowman and Fireman Jesse Bohannon were in that engine. Fireman Bowman had to sit with his foot on the brake because if he tried to set the parking brake the fire engine would start sliding over the steep hill.

We tried to call for a wrecker but they could not get there. Major Greg Whittaker of the Putnam County Sheriff's Department was with us and he took Captain Hicks back to the fire station to get some salt to try and put under the back tire to try and get the engine back on top of the hill. Fireman Bowman had to sit and hold the brake with his foot for about an hour before we could get it back up the hill. After making it back to the fire station we knew this was going to be more than a day or two event.

‘It looked like we got hit by a tornado’ I started talking with Putnam County

Ty Kernea | Herald-Citizen

Monterey Fire Chief Kevin Peters (left) looks on in the unified command center as Drew Smith, Hannal Ledbetter, Amy Jennings, Jeff Hicks and Darrell Jennings work on getting information in the aftermath of an ice storm that ravaged Monterey and part of Putnam County.

EMA director Tyler Smith, who said they had a generator coming to Monterey and one going out to Wilson School. After this I called my wife, Robin, and told her how bad the situation was and to start putting the items from the refrigerator into totes so that we would have food to eat. I told her it would take me a while but I would be there to get her and my daughter Shelby.

I took Fireman Dylan Durham with me and we started to my house, which is about a mile and a half from the fire station. We had to cut our way out Highway 62, in some cases just cutting a hole big enough for a vehicle to drive through. After about an hour and a half we made it home. We started back and had to cut our way back to the fire station. On the way back I told my wife that you could not explain how truly bad it was over the phone; you just had to see it for yourself. Coming back into town I took some photos and called Tyler Smith and told him it looked like we got hit by a F3 or F5 tornado. He said to send him the photos so the EOC in Cookeville could see.

After getting back to town I got with Mayor Wiggins and asked where he wanted to start our EOC for the city. I told him the fire station was on a backup generator so we would have power there. He said that is where it needed to be. He said he had been in contact with the street supervisor Bobby Farley and County Executive Randy Porter, who was at the Cookeville EOC with Tyler Smith, EMA; Brandon Smith, assistant 911 director; Cookeville Mayor Ricky Shelton; State Representative Ryan Williams; Bruce Womack, public information officer; and about 15 more people. Monterey Police K-9 officer Larry Bates was the cities’ liaison. We began having phone conferences about every hour with updates.

Providing shelter In between phone calls, Johnny Bowman and I went to Monterey First Baptist Church to see what they needed to get the shelter open. We got the generator and lights taken up to the church and Johnny stared a medical treatment center on my request. I had total confidence in Johnny along with the First Baptist Church to take good care of the people of Monterey and the surrounding area.

He was my contact with the shelter and I knew he could take care of the medical and mental needs of our community.

By placing him there with the staff of the church, that was one of many situations I did not have to worry about because I knew the job would get done.

Lisa Bumbalough of the Putnam County Health Department helped with the shelters and worked with the Red Cross for the long term shelter.

Communication problems Cell phone service was limited due to ice falling into the Verizon building at the Channel 22 site on Brotherton Mountain. This made communicating more difficult with the EOC in Cookeville without being on a land line at the Fire Station.

Command center We started the Monterey EOC in the kitchen area of the fire station because only certain plugs work when the backup system is on. We had extension cord run throughout the kitchen area and bathroom because no light worked in the bathroom.

By nightfall, the people who were in the Cookeville EOC realized the eastern part of the county was the hardest-hit area and within a few hours had made their way to Monterey’s EOC.

Monterey Fire Chief Kevin Peters said the town looked like had been hit by a tornado.

Water situation A large generator to run the water plant was enroute escorted by THP from Nashville. It took until about 5 in the morning to get the generator hooked up by electricians to get the plant up and going.

Monterey was never without water thanks to Monterey’s water superintendent Duane Jarrett, who was always filling the water tanks and having the reservoir full when there was potential for bad weather. He needs to be highly recognized for being prepared for this disaster and always looking out for the citizens of Monterey and the utility districts of which he serves.

Duane had the specifications for the size of the generator needed for the water plant — it was not as easy as just hooking a generator to a fuse box. This was a high-voltage project. I was amazed that the plant was up and running as quick as it was. They had a smaller generator at the lift station that pumped the water into the plant.

Great job Duane, you are amazing.

Nursing home and fuel matters While this was going on, I kept checking on the nursing home because their generator runs off diesel and without power in town we could not get fuel for the police cars, fire trucks, dump trucks or generators.

The EOC started shuttling diesel and gasoline from Cookeville by the Homeland Security trucks and Putnam County maintenance department to supply all of the essential departments of the town and fuel for the many chain saws that were in use over the initial hours.

A family displaced My family and I got about a couple of hours of rest the first night sleeping on air mattresses in the floor at the fire station, not knowing if we would have anymore situations. It was hard to rest wondering what tomorrow was going to

be like for everyone in town.

Working together The EOC quickly out grew the kitchen area of the fire station. I moved some of the trucks outside to set up a larger more organized EOC with a unified command with myself and all of the agencies of Putnam County. We also made room in the fire bays to feed the many volunteers, police, fire, EMS, electric crews, and people in need.

Brandon Smith is the one person who kept us focused on what our goals and objectives were each day. He is also an amazing person that Putnam County should be extremely proud of his organization and preparedness of these types of situations. I have truly made one of those friends that you will never forget and have the honor to work with over the past few weeks.

This was unchartered territory for everyone involved because of the large scope of the area affected. Everyone worked together not letting anything disrupt the objective of trying to take care of the people of the affective area.

We did not let city limits or county lines get in the way of taking care of situations that arose.

Making rounds Doing door-to-door wellness checks to every home in Monterey and most of the surrounding area on Sunday was an amazing under taking by Monterey police, Putnam County sheriff, fire crews and volunteers. This was one of the best things we could have done for the people who had no clue of what was happening on the outside world because of no contact with anyone.

Disaster relief On Sunday and Monday we were working on setting up a feeding food trailer, distribution center, long-term shelter, animal shelter, getting food to the people who could not get out, and still checking on houses outside of Monterey.

Nestle Water of Red Boiling Springs contacted me on Sunday to offer water to us if we could get a truck to pick it up. On Monday I was talking with Sharon Womack of the Putnam County EMA at the EOC in Monterey. She contacted IWC of Cookeville, and they had a truck within a few miles of the Nestle Plant. They picked it up for us and got it to Monterey thanks to David Anderson who is the Assistant Chief of the Putnam County Rescue Squad and has worked at IWC for many years.

The volunteer organization was headed up by Darrell Jennings, who took on a massive job of trying to keep up with every group coming into town and all of the individuals wanting to help. Darrell did a great job with all the different organizations and still is as of today.

We had a public information group which worked on everything from social media, TV, radio and handout information on every aspect of the emergency.

We had a documentation group from the Putnam County School System making spreadsheets and logging receipts, donors, workers and anything in between.

Distribution That was when Brent Morse of TEMA said he knew of a lady who had set up a distribution center at another disaster a few months earlier. Jessica Doak came and set up the distribution at the Monterey Pallet plant on South Chestnut.

Chris Landers of Monterey Pallet and Cumberland Container worked with Jessica to set up the distribution center.

Jessica then trained the amazing group from Heritage Academy under the leadership of Debbie Baker. The distribution center was a tremendous success and served around 10,000 people during its duration.

Feeding families The food trailer fed a countless number of people at the shelter, people off the street, volunteers, and anyone who needed a meal. Another food trailer was set up by the Monterey High and Burks Elementary cafeteria staffs under the direction and work of Charlotte Perry of the Putnam County School System.

Ms. Perry worked along with Director of Schools Jerry Boyd and Assistant Director Dr. Tammy Knipp to provide meals to kids, families and volunteers for breakfast, lunch and dinner out of the trailer that came from Middle Tennessee Natural Gas. Animal aid The animal shelter was set up at the building under construction for Hope in Christ Church on Peter Avenue and served many animals from at least three or four counties.

Busy fire department While all of this was going on, the fire department responded to more than 22 calls in the first four days from electric lines arcing, people trying to stay warm by putting gas grills in their homes, which caused kids to get sick from the high levels of CO2 in the residence, vehicle wrecks, and structure fires.

Putnam County Fire Department and Cookeville City Fire kept a crew in Monterey for two days while the power was being restored.

Family sacrifices Now, for my family.

To my wife, Robin — it is not easy being a fireman’s wife who has put up with me being on the fire department for more than 34 years and understanding my desire to help anyone in need.

I know I have left in the middle of meals, kid’s ball games, during bad weather, and in the middle of the night, leaving her with taking care of the kids.

She kept everyone who came through the fire department doors fed. She cleaned the kitchen and bathroom at the fire station and kept donations of food coming to feed everyone.

She is an amazing lady. After the past few weeks, everyone in the EOC has called her mom and has adopted her as their Monterey mom. And my daughter, Shelby, has been there from the start, helping her mom and making no-bake cookies and snow cream for the EOC staff.

Great little town Monterey will not look the same, but no one lost their life due to the ice storm, and no one was seriously hurt.

There have been a lot of good, positive things that have came out of this terrible disaster, and let’s keep moving forward to get our community back to the great little town “Where the Hilltops Kiss the Sky.” I want to personally thank everyone involved for the great work each and every one of you have done and are continuing to do. There is still a lot of work ahead, and we will finish the job. I hope and pray each of you were blessed as much as I have been to work along with you.

It has been an honor.

Page 4 — ICE STORM 2015 — Sunday, March 15, 2015

ICE STORM 2015 Emergency alert system stands ready to alert Putnam County PUTNAM COUNTY — Putnam County’s Emergency Alert System is a network of different systems utilized to share information and engage in conversations with the public, especially during times of local emergency or disaster. Many of the systems used have been utilized multiple times, for events such as severe weather, hazardous materials, missing persons, or special events within the community.

Until the 2015 ice storm, many of those systems had never been utilized in a true “disaster.” Putnam County’s

Emergency Alert System is purchased through partnerships among Putnam County 911, Emergency Management Agency, and each jurisdiction in Putnam County.

“We maintain the contracts and expertise on each EAS system, but it is a close partnership with Emergency Management,” stated Mike Thompson, Putnam County 911 director.

“Our goal is that our systems are always ready and we have adequate back-ups for when a system fails or we lose internet connectivity to one of them. Our priority is that we can com-

municate with our citizens when it matters the most, and we take pride in the work we do to be prepared for that,” Thompson added.

With each of the EAS components being tested regularly, and many of them utilized throughout severe weather season, EAS managers state it is important for the public to know how to expect the systems to work and what they can do to be better connected in an emergency.

“It is extremely important for the community to know our systems and how they work. We encourage at least

three mechanisms for alerts, meaning each person should be connected to at least three systems in their everyday life, then we add systems like the outdoor warning sirens that will be an added alert if they are outdoors,” states Brandon Smith, 911 assistant director, who manages the county’s Emergency Alert System.

With severe weather season just beginning, officials encourage citizens to learn about the systems available to them and take the time to become engaged with the systems before they are actually needed. “Unfortunately, it

takes an emergency or close call before many people will learn about emergency preparedness or emergency alerts. We want everyone to get engaged in the emergency alert systems before they are needed. Once they are needed, it’s too late to start trying to learn them,” explained Tyler Smith, Putnam County Emergency Management Agency director.

For more information about Putnam County’s Emergency Alert System, read below and follow up on the EAS page of Putnam County 911’s website at www.putnam911.org.

Information coalition worked to keep citizens informed

By BRITTANY STOVALL HERALD-CITIZEN Staff

An arial view of the area around Monterey shows trees which snapped in half during the ice storm.

911 Center preparations made emergency response go smoothly

By MEGAN TROTTER HERALD-CITIZEN Staff

PUTNAM COUNTY — When the meteorologists started predicting the incoming bad weather, the staff at the Putnam County 911 Center did not take the warnings lightly. After report after report came that ice, snow and freezing rain were headed this way, they knew that they needed to prepare for a heavy workload.

“Everybody jokes about the weatherman,” Penny Foister, 911 center assistant director of operations, said. “They say, ‘I could be a weatherman; you never have to be right!’ but when the weathermen keep saying, ‘This is going to happen.

It’s going to be bad.’ Pay attention. Plan ahead. Just be prepared.”

The 911 Center prepared by calling in extra dispatchers to help cover the phones. Typically, there are three dispatchers working during the day, and two at night. When it looks like weather might be particularly bad, they would consider calling in an extra person.

“Since meteorology is not an exact science and just because the forecast says it’s going to be bad doesn’t mean it’s going to be bad, we can’t bring in another person all the time because you’ll blow your budget that way. It’s kind of a gamble,” Foister said. “You kind of try to watch the weather, and if you think it’s really going to hit and be bad, then you try to plan ahead and get another dispatcher, because when those phones start ringing, they don’t stop ringing for a while — sometimes hours.”

Dispatchers work 12-hour shifts of seven days on and seven days off, however they are required to be on call during their 12 hours of off time on the days that they work.

“They’re required to be available the 12 hours that they’re off on the days that they work, but we try not to call them obviously because they need sleep and they need that time off,” Mike Thompson, Putnam County 911 Center director, said.

With the repeated warnings of how bad the incoming weather would be, the 911 center de-

Megan Trotter | Herald-Citizen

Jason Bohannon, dispatcher, answers an emergency call at the 911 center.

cided to bring in that extra person. But by about 4:30 a.m. that first morning of the storm, 911 center staff saw how bad things were going to get, and called in enough dispatchers to fill all five of their consoles in the office — a very unusual occurrence.

“This was the kind of thing that they look at to make scenarios for the classes when they train you and teach you how to do this,” Brandon Smith, assistant director of special services, said. “This was the kind of thing that they write for you to solve in those classes. It’s a worst case scenario. We’re very lucky that there was no loss of life or major injuries in Putnam County.”

Calls poured into the 911 center, many about damaged power lines, blown transformers and trees down on power lines. Unfortunately, many people also called 911 just to report power outages, which hindered dispatchers from getting to calls from people who were in possible life-and-death situations.

Thompson urged the public to simply just keep calling their electric provider in the event of a power outage until they get through. Exceptions to this would be those who have medical needs that require power — only then would it be appropriate to call 911 to report a power

outage if they could not get through to the electricity provider.

“If your power goes out just on an average day, and you call the number and you constantly get a busy signal, chances are that’s other people reporting the same power outage,” Thompson said.

One of the things that the 911 center implemented to help separate calls that were not emergencies but were pressing needs was to set up a temporary help line. During the storms, the 911 center took calls from this line from people with issues such as being trapped inside the house and running out of food, or being without power and running out of fuel for their alternate heat source.

“It was answered in the emergency operation center in Monterey during the day and at night, it was answered by the 911 center but it came in on a different line. So if you had the 911 line and that help line ringing at the same time, the 911 call takes prescience,” Smith said.

The 911 center has also prepared for disasters to its own building by having numerous backup systems. There is a backup generator that can power not just the 911 cetner, but also the headquarters for EMS, the county fire and rescue.

“Should that backup fail for

whatever reason, we have a smaller backup generator that we would have to manually start, but it’s already wired in.

All we would have to do is flip some breakers and start it manually, and it’s capable of running everything,” Thompson said.

They also have battery backups for equipment so that power is not interrupted while switching to generator power. There’s also multiple radio towers and frequencies they can use, and even mobile 911 centers that could be put into action if the building itself was damaged.

“You have to have a Plan B, Plan C, Plan D,” Foister said.

“In this line of work, you’re always planning for what’s the worst that could happen. You can’t say, ‘That would never happen here.’ You have to plan as if it could.”

“I feel like we did a good job of preparing for the storms,” Smith said. “We heeded the warnings from the weather service and from the Emergency Management Agency, understanding that it could at any time, get bad. I think that is the lesson that is sticking with us, that we always need to heed those warnings and pay close attention to what could happen — not necessarily what is going to happen, but what could happen is what we need to be ready for.”

PUTNAM COUNTY — Keeping the public thoroughly informed with disaster updates was the focus of the local Joint Information Coalition in the aftermath of the ice storm in Monterey.

“This is part of what the coalition was formed for,” said Brandon Smith, assistant director of special services for Putnam County 911. “It was the first time we had to use it in a disaster setting.”

According to Smith, who leads the coalition, the body quickly moved into action when the storm hit the county and affected thousands of residents starting Saturday, Feb. 21.

“It’s a group of public information officers from all of the emergency agencies who get together and work together to make sure information going out to the public is timely, accurate and compiled,” he said.

Information was coordinated to keep citizens updated through social media like Facebook and Twitter, and sending news releases to both local outlets, such as the Herald-Citizen, and those as far as Nashville. Updates continuously poured out of local radio through Stonecom, where emergency leaders held live interviews and gave updates.

“We figured out a long time ago social media is the biggest mainstay for people during a disaster, because when cell phones go out, when power goes out, when nothing else works, people still find a way to connect to social media in many cases,” Smith said.

The coalition was modeled off of the Joint Information Center, a nationally recognized component of the Emergency Operations Center which works to provide critical and accurate information during a crisis. The group consisted of PIOs who were already meeting on a monthly basis to keep each other in the loop about local happenings, and helped pull in additional officers to navigate information during the disaster.

“Because there were a lot of emergency services involved, we had to rely on the relationship in our coalition to bring PIOs in to help do those jobs,” Smith explained.

One of those organizations was the Putnam County School System.

“The school system was the least affected by the ice storm, and when schools were closed and they didn’t have any damage to their buildings, they gave school personnel to help us in multiple functions in the Emergency Operations Center,” Smith said. “Had it not been for our relationship with the school system and the school system’s willingness to help, there’s a lot of stuff that wouldn’t have been done as well as it was done.”

School PIO Melanie Bussell helped spearhead much of the effort by pushing out information, and also responding to citizen concerns and questions. She received a phone call on Feb. 21 from a fellow PIO, Bruce Womack with the

Cookeville Fire Department, saying her help was needed.

“I ended up at the Emergency Operation Center that Saturday afternoon; they were debriefing with the Monterey fire chief in the EOC every hour, so every hour new information was coming out. And from that I would take notes and decide what did the public need to hear at the time,” Bussell said.

Hourly updates also poured in from local electric companies, providing details about how many customers were still without power. At least five different agency Facebook pages were being updated each hour the night after the storm hit.

“We were trying to push that information out on Facebook and Twitter, and if there was really big information about safety, we were calling into the radio stations,” Bussell said.

Often, she responded to citizen concerns.

“There were people responding saying, ‘We need water, we need welfare checks, we need people to come.’ From that I could give information to the difference (emergency) departments…”

The next day, Sunday, she and other PIOs also started manning a help line for citizens to call into for assistance.

“It was a definite team effort,” Bussell said.

According to Smith, the coalition relies heavily on the Local Emergency Planning Committee to carry out operations. Tommy Copeland, EMS director, chairs the committee, which formed in the early 1980s as a federal mandate to help communities prepare for emergencies regarding hazardous materials. Many communities did not keep their LEPCs going, Copeland said, but Putnam has worked to expand its coverage.

“We have maintained ours since the 1980s, and instead of just doing hazardous materials, we’ve taken an all hazards approach,” he stated.

He added, “Having this in place, having everyone know each other and working together for years, it makes it easier when we have (a disaster) event.”

About the coalition, Bussell noted, “I don’t think we would have been as good as shape as we were if we had not been trained and working in this coalition together … It wasn’t like we walked in and worked with a group of people we had never discussed these things with. So I’m very grateful the coalition is there.”

The coalition includes local representatives from Putnam County 911 and EMS, Putnam County Sheriff’s Department, Putnam County Schools, Cookeville Fire Department, Putnam County EMA, Cookeville Regional Medical Center, Putnam County Rescue Squad, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Putnam County Fire Department, Tennessee Tech University, Tennessee Department of Health, ATF, Cookeville Regional Medical Center, Cookeville Police Department, Algood Police Department and Middle Tennessee Natural Gas.

ICE STORM 2015 — Sunday, March 15, 2015 — Page 5

ICE STORM 2015

Shelter resident was glad to have a ‘home’ away from home

By TRACEY HACKETT HERALD-CITIZEN Staff

MONTEREY — First, the power went out at his apartment. Then someone knocked on his door.

It was the rescue squad, arriving on the Saturday morning the ice strom struck to take 86-year-old Vermal Jones to the safety of a 24-hour disaster relief shelter.

“The rescue squad knocked on my door around 4 o’clock Saturday morning, and they brought me here. This is where I’ve been ever since,” Jones told the Herald-Citizen the Tuesday following the storm.

And for that period of time, his home away from home was a cot beside a utility table on top of which he could store sundry medical and toiletry items and underneath which he could store his portable oxygen tank.

But Jones had no complaints.

Since being rescued from his cold and dark apartment, he hasn’t been hungry or uncomfortable.

“I’m as comfortable as I can be under the circumstances. Everyone here has been real nice. They’ve been treating me good, and they’ve sure been feeding me good. There’s something to eat all the time here,” he said.

The disaster relief shelters served hot meals three times a day for about a week after the storm, and those meals were provided to shelter residents and anyone else affected by the storm.

There was also a distribution center to provide food boxes for people whose power had been out long enough to spoil all of the groceries in their refrigerators and freezers.

When Jones first arrived at the disaster relief shelter, though, he said his primary concern was to try to find out about his wife.

She is a resident at the nursing facility

in Monterey, he said.

“I heard they got the power back on pretty quick over there, so that made me feel better,” he said.

Jones, originally a native of White County, said he spent many years away from Tennessee performing factory work in Michigan.

He said he came back to the state after he retired nearly 20 years ago and settled, this time, in Monterey.

“This is home to me now, and I hate to see everything in this condition,” he said.

“When I was growing up in White County, I remember having snow and ice storms sometimes, but I’ve never seen anything like this,” Jones added.

What Jones said he remembered most about those storms he witnessed growing up was their beauty, not their destruction.

“I don’t remember them causing damage like this. What I remember is the

Tracey Hackett | Herald-Citizen

86-year-old Vermal Jones enjoys a cup of coffee at a 24-hour disaster relief shelter in Monterey. Jones was one of several residents aided by the shelter.

Businesses help in Monterey disaster relief

By LAURA MILITANA HERALD-CITIZEN Staff

MONTEREY — A lot of agencies, from emergency personnel to non-profits and more, have come together to help those impacted by the recent ice storm.

A number of businesses have also joined the ranks in helping, even though the city’s largest industry had their operations impacted.

“We were happy to provide food for some of the shelters who were assisting people during the storm,” Julie DeYoung with Perdue Farms said. “We donated luncheon meats and other food for sandwiches and such.”

The Monterey facility was closed the Saturday the ice storm hit, as power was knocked out to the plant for about 10 hours.

That didn’t affect the products, though.

“We use large industrial coolers and freezers that are well-sealed and maintain temperature very well, so there were no issues with maintaining product at the proper temperature,” she explained.

The plant was also closed Monday due to low water pressure.

Normal operations resumed on Tuesday.

A number of other local businesses helped provide food for those seeking shelter.

Grand Image Salon at 201-D N. Elmore St., provided hair washing services, food and coffee to those without power.

This generated a lot of praise and thanks from customers, as seen from the posts on the business’ Facebook page.

Around 50 people have taken advantage of the offer, with more coming in.

“We will be washing hair until everyone has got power and water back on!!,” owner Stacie Neely posted on the Facebook page. “Please come by and please pass the word! If nothing else can be clean, we guarantee you’ll leave with a clean scalp and clean hair!! We will have blow dryers and flat irons on hand for you to use! We would love for you to come by! It makes us feel good to do some type of service for our community so please do us the honor!!”

That offer then encouraged neighboring salons to join the effort, with those being in Crossville and Clarkrange.

“I’ve got an employee at the shelter helping out and we’re also feeding the Volunteer Energy crews,” Neely said. “We’ve gotten so many positive comments.”

Bethel Inn and Suites is also helping out by furnishing rooms for Volunteer Electric crews, helping families with no electricity and offering the use of showers for the Silver Angels home health workers.

Cumberland Pallet also cleaned the building out to make room for the distribution center.

Other businesses helping include Todd’s Convenience Mart, Dairy Queen, Burger King, Subway, Papa John’s and numerous others.

Tracey Hackett | Herald-Citizen

Thousands of people were without power after utility poles and power lines snapped during the ice storm of 2015.

Volunteer Energy crews worked around the clock during ice storm

By LAURA MILITANA HERALD-CITIZEN Staff

MONTEREY — Sixteen hour shifts.

Ninety-five crews.

Six hundred and fifty people working over nine days.

Eight hundred poles replaced.

Forty thousand customers without electric service.

Those are the numbers officials with Volunteer Energy Cooperative are reporting from the ice storm that hit their service area Feb. 20 and 21, knocking power out to all of Monterey.

“The crews worked 16-hour shifts, with eight hours off between shifts, for more than a week in order to restore power,” Patty Hurley, vice president of marketing and economic development said.

“At the height of the storm, nearly 40,000 VEC customers were without electric service.

Four counties in our service

area had no power at all. TVA transmission lines that served four of our substations were damaged and had to be repaired to restore the substations.”

There ended up being a total of 95 crews from the cooperative, contractors and other utility companies, with around 650 people on the ground for about nine days working around the clock to restore power.

“Because the storm was predicted, we were able to deploy crews in critical areas prior to the weather event so that they could begin working as soon as it was safe to do so,” Hurley explained.

Even though power has been restored to all customers, crews are still replacing broken poles and cleaning up equipment that was taken down by the storm.

Now that things have settled down, VEC officials are looking at the lessons learned from this storm, which is reportedly

the biggest storm in the history of the cooperative.

“We saw how communication plays such an important role in situations such as this,” Hurley said. “It is vital to the effort that crews and coordinating supervisors communicate, but it is also very important to convey as much information as possible to those affected by outages.

“We also saw first-hand how communities come together to make sure basic needs are met,” Hurley said. “Local professional and community groups and churches fed crews, cut trees from roads so that trucks could reach downed lines, and provided assistance to residents. Businesses and organizations donated food and volunteers to the effort. Representatives from the media Ty Kernea | Herald-Citizen worked hard to provide updates regarding power restora- Utility workers labored around the clock to get power retion. This was definitely a stored to thousands of residents in Putnam and surroundcommunity/team effort.” ing counties.

Tracey Hackett | Herald-Citizen

Employees of Volunteer Energy Cooperative worked 16-hour shifts to get power back to residents in Monterey and the surrounding area after an ice storm wiped out utility lines and poles.

Page 6 — ICE STORM 2015 — Sunday, March 15, 2015

ICE STORM 2015 Disaster preparedness makes a difference

Local law enforcement serve and protect during ice storm devastation

By TRACEY HACKETT HERALD-CITIZEN Staff

By BRITTANY STOVALL HERALD-CITIZEN Staff

PUTNAM COUNTY – Preparing for and mitigating disasters, like when the ice storm hit Monterey, is the job of the Putnam County Emergency Management Agency, and it hopes citizens will now make it theirs too.

“I think it’s woken a lot of people up because they were caught off guard,” said Tyler Smith, director of EMA. Sharon Womack, deputy director, added, “Right now people will listen, because they’ve just gone through it or they’re still going through it.”

CERT Training One major way to prepare citizens for disaster is through a 20hour Community Emergency Response Team course. Womack is a coordinator for the local CERT classes, which are designed and distributed by the Department of Homeland Security.

“It’s designed for private citizens to teach them how to be more prepared for emergencies and disasters, and how to respond when something does happen – what to do, what not to do,” she said.

Past course participants helped give relief in the aftermath of the recent storm, like the students from Heritage Academy in Monterey. According to Womack, the entire school is CERT trained as part of their curriculum.

“Heritage Academy were one of our big responders that came in to help,” Womack said. “They sent crews out to help with cutting and getting brush out of the way. They joined in some welfare checks. They completely ran the disaster relief center for distribution.

“The principal, the president and all their kids… it was just amazing what they did.”

According to Womack, Cumberland Cove residents are now looking into taking a CERT class as a community to prepare for any potential disasters.

Instruction, which leads to certification, includes disaster preparedness, fire suppression, emergency medical operations, light search and rescue, CERT organization, disaster psychology and terrorism. Students also learn how to prepare a disaster kit.

72-Hour Emergency Kits The EMA stresses everyone should have a 72-hour emergency kit full of supplies to last them at least three days, which could have been a big help for many residents after the storm.

“If you get marooned in your home, like a lot of the people in Monterey did, then you have that in addition to whatever else is in your kitchen, your pantries, medicine cabinets and everything,” Womack said.

Kits usually include basic emergency supplies such as batteries and first aid kits, and also cover individual needs like diapers and prescription medications. Items such as canned goods and snack foods, extra water, blankets and an alternate heating source can help tide people over who lose their electricity, such as the Monterey residents who went without power for days.

Alternate Power and Heating Sources Womack stressed that, if possible, residents should have a generator available as an alternate power source, which could have helped many of those without electricity. However, do not use it inside the house as it can pose a risk for carbon monoxide poisoning.

“If anybody has a family member that’s on any kind of life support of any kind, that generator becomes that much more valuable,” Womack added.

For heating, a kerosene heater is advised, but also should not be used indoors. Residents are advised to not use an oven or portable grill as a way to heat the home. And don’t rely on candles for light since they can be a fire hazard; instead, have a working flashlight on standby. In one recent instance, an elderly woman was discovered as using a candle while using her walker.

For more information, Putnam County EMA can be contacted at (931) 528-7575.

PUTNAM COUNTY — Ask any law enforcement officer who responded to the recent ice storm in Monterey and eastern Putnam County, and every deputy and officer who was there will tell you, “I was just doing my job.”

Many residents witnessed emergency responders and volunteers representing numerous organizations — both in law enforcement and other areas — as they came together to respond to the disaster.

“What those residents may not have realized is the preparation and coordination of efforts that go into being able to work seamlessly during such a disaster,” Sheriff Eddie Farris said.

The ingrained drive of most law enforcement personnel to serve and protect the public, however, helped create that coordination of efforts and quick response to the situation.

Sheriff Farris responded immediately to areas hit hardest by the storm, and when he realized the severity of the conditions, he said he began preparing both personnel and resources for extended duty.

“The emphasis was on locating and checking on residents, as well as monitoring and directing traffic through the 400 square miles of the county,” he said.

And especially at the beginning of the disaster, those were no easy tasks.

Even primary roads were covered by sheets of ice several inches thick and blocked by

mazes of downed trees and power lines that had to be cut through or moved for the roads to be navigable.

So one of the key aspects of the preparation effort was first to make sure that sheriff’s department personnel could respond for duty.

“It was important for us to help our personnel to secure their residences and families so they could respond and aid the citizens without delay. As a result, we had several deputies who volunteered their personal equipment and off-duty time to help,” Sheriff Farris said.

Another important aspect of efforts throughout the storm was maintaining constant contact with various community, volunteer and emergency response leaders, the sheriff said.

Sheriff Farris initiated and directed personnel to enact mutual aid agreements that allowed sheriff’s department personnel to work with and bring in other law enforcement resources to assist with the disaster.

Police chiefs from Monterey and Cookeville departments immediately began sending resources to the area command for coordination.

While Chief Bill Randolph naturally directed the Monterey police personnel to focus their efforts on the city, Cookeville Chief Randy Evans directed personnel to assist the deputies in the unincorporated areas, primarily the hard-hit community of Cumberland Cove.

“All of these personnel provided traffic control, tree clearing, delivery of food and water,

Beth Nelson submitted

A Tennessee Highway Patrol (above) keeps its lights on so utility workers can repair power lines while a Putnam County Sheriff’s deputy (below) helps cut limbs. These were just some of the acts of law enforcement during the ice storm of 2015.

and door-to-door house checks to locate and assess the welfare of residents in the impacted area,” the sheriff said.

Algood Police Department transported about 15 loads of items for donation to the Monterey Disaster Relief Center, and Spanish-speaking Officer Ahscari Valencia assisted in communicating with the town’s Hispanic population.

With the east end of the county garnering the focus of relief efforts, the municipal chiefs and Sheriff Farris remained aware of the importance to provide similar services to residents in other areas of the county.

Being able to provide that response, as well as continuing to perform law enforcement duties throughout the county, was the reason sheriff’s department personnel worked around the clock and had their days off cancelled during the disaster.

“The professionalism of our personnel and their dedication to help the residents, as well as the commitment of all those who responded and provided services, was something I’m re-

ally proud of,” Sheriff Farris said.

The sheriff offered his thanks to the municipal police departments for providing their personnel to assist.

EMA officials evaluate role of Emergency Operations Center

By TRACEY HACKETT HERALD-CITIZEN Staff

MONTEREY — When the forecasted ice storm hit Monterey, Putnam County Emergency Management Agency officials say they were as ready for it as they could have been.

Emergency responders perform drills and activations annually to be ready for any type of disaster, and plans and procedures were in place so the agency could respond immediately.

“We had already identified our roles, and we were as ready for the situation as we possibly could have been,” Director Tyler Smith said.

He began hearing reports of the destruction, first from other counties and then in Monterey and eastern Putnam County, around 5 a.m.

Deputy Director Sharon Womack said she and other EMA officials had been following the weather forecast of the storm and anticipating its arrival, as many others in the area had been.

“I woke up around 4 a.m. and started reading a book as I waited for the call to get ready,” she said.

After only a few minutes, the power went out at her house.

“That’s when I knew it wouldn’t be long,” she said, and it wasn’t.

Conference calls among EMA officials and other county leaders took place by 7:30 a.m., and the Emergency Operations Center was activated around 10 a.m. that day.

After evaluating storm damage from across the county, officials made the critical decision to set up a satellite EOC in Monterey.

Brandon Smith, assistant director of special services for Putnam County 911, said, “Making the decision to set up our EOC in Monterey was a critical factor in our ability to respond to the situation. In order for us to activate the resources and services we needed to, it was essential for us to be up there, especially considering the difference in terrain between Monterey and Cookeville.”

Although there was damage across the county and ice-laden limbs on the ground everywhere, the extent of devastation in the eastern end of the county was unparalleled.

So much so that county and emergency officials who are trained to respond to such emergencies and who, like other residents, were anticipating the forecast say they were surprised by the level of destruction they saw when they arrived on the scene.

With that destruction so localized to

Tracey Hackett | Herald-Citizen

Putnam County Executive Randy Porter, EMA Director Tyler Smith and Capt. R.C. Christian of the THP discuss strategy at the Monterey satellite EOC.

eastern Putnam County, however, they knew the EOC must also be localized.

That’s because the purpose of the EOC is to create a centralized hub for organizing and coordinating efforts among officials and departmental representatives of all agencies responding to the disaster.

It’s the place from which information — both for responders and for the public — is distributed, where resources are coordinated and where multiple daily briefings are held.

“It required additional logistics, but its purpose and our duties were the same,” Womack said.

The EOC was set up at the Monterey Fire Department, and at first, emergency personnel worked out of a small kitchen area with equipment powered by a generator.

That location was cramped and had no wireless Internet service, which was essential to the officials’ efforts of coordinating information and plans.

In order to accommodate the needs of the operation, one of the firetrucks was temporarily moved from its dock so tables for phones, radios and computers with Internet service could be set up.

Frontier Communications responded to set up wireless Internet service and to make sure communication lines were functioning properly.

Brandon Smith said he appreciated the company’s professionalism and immediacy of response because it helped emergency workers focus more quickly on the tasks at hand.

“They had someone there within an hour of being called, and they stayed until the made sure everything worked like it should,” he said.

Although there were many volunteers and organizations that assisted with the emergency response, another agency that sent representatives to the EOC and made a positive direct impact on its operation was the Putnam County School System.

“The cooperation of Superintendent Jerry Boyd and the service of several school system employees who assisted us the first week of the disaster was a key component of our success. They took on the responsibility of acting as our main public information source. That helped us greatly by allowing us to focus more on other essential tasks,” Brandon Smith said.

Tyler Smith said many local agencies had department leaders or representatives there every day.

County Executive Randy Porter, state Rep. Ryan Williams, state Sen. Paul Bailey, many elected officials and department leaders in Monterey, including the mayor — and even the Cookeville mayor — were in constant contact during the crisis.

“There were a lot of people who put their lives on hold so they could just be there to help every day,” Tyler Smith said.

Deputy Tory Womack organized welfare checks, sending patrols as close to door-to-door as possible with all roads and streets at the beginning of the crisis

blocked by downed trees and power lines.

Monterey Water Director Duane Jarrett had filled the holding tanks to the brim the night before in anticipation of the storm, and his forethought probably kept the town from being without water during the crisis, officials say.

Volunteers from the local Heritage Academy boarding school created a spreadsheet that allowed food distribution workers to inventory the names, gender and ages of people who picked up supplies, making it possible to track the demographics of those receiving assistance.

And two district coordinators from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency were actively involved the entire week.

Because the destruction in Putnam County was shared by several neighboring counties, however, the greatest challenge of the EOC here was getting other available state resources, Tyler Smith said.

“But it was a team effort all the way.

Everybody just pitched in and did what had to be done, and some of them had never before responded to anything like this,” he said.

Brandon Smith replied, “We had never before responded to an emergency like this.”

Tyler Smith agreed, saying the 1974 tornado that killed a dozen Putnam County residents is the only other natural disaster here that compares.

“Thankfully, there were no fatalities this time, but I think the devastation is greater,” he said.

Womack said the emergency responders checked the statewide deaths relating to the weather conditions daily during the disaster.

“There were certain criteria we evaluated — like age and cause of death — to try to determine if there were things we could do differently here to better protect our citizens, and every day it was always a relief when we learned no one from here had died,” she said.

Brandon Smith said, “Every day, we just tried to think through everything and ask ourselves what we have, what we need and how to get it all to the arms and legs of the people distributing it and to the people who need it.”

Womack said, “There really is no if when it comes to natural disasters; it’s more a question of when. That’s why we practice and do drills to respond to these types of situations. But even so, this one still took every trick we had in our hip pockets.”

ICE STORM 2015 — Sunday, March 15, 2015 — Page 7

ICE STORM 2015

Monterey ‘still in desperate need’ of volunteers to clean up town

By AMY DAVIS HERALD-CITIZEN Staff

Amy Davis | Herald-Citizen

Monterey Mayor Bill Wiggins talks about how the town has coped with the ice storm of 2015.

A look back on the ice storm disaster

By AMY DAVIS HERALD-CITIZEN Staff

MONTEREY — Remarkable... but not surprising.

That’s the way Monterey Mayor Bill Wiggins described the actions of those on the frontlines following the disastrous ice storm that left the mountaintop town of 3,000 in a state of emergency.

It had been a rude awakening the morning of Feb. 21. Freezing rain had coated electric lines and trees with several inches of ice, causing them to snap under the pressure, leaving the whole town without power.

Citizens found themselves scrambling for the basics — food, heat and shelter. But they didn’t go through it alone.

As Wiggins looked back on the past three weeks, he thought warmly of the many emergency services personnel and volunteers who stepped up and made a difference.

“People demonstrated their generosity, concern and willingness to help one another out,” he said.

Which was crucial in a town at a time of so much need.

“The enormity of that storm was well beyond our resources,” Wiggins said.

He knew that much right away as he maneuvered his way through town the morning after the disaster, shaken by what he saw.

And he called for help.

“I made those key phone calls,” he said. “I call them key because these were the people who I understood could come in and help us cope with this.”

Those actions bore much fruit.

“Within hours, the Putnam County emergency management folks had cranked up and formed a command center here in Monterey,” Wiggins said. “We were working as a team.”

A large, multi-faceted team.

“I sat there in awe as I watched these people with so many moving parts,” Wiggins said. “They were all synchronized and tethered together, but each was task-oriented to their specific area.

“They did assessments, determined objectives, outlined strategies, continually reevaluated, held briefings, coordinated volunteer efforts — in essence, it was a real command center. I was totally impressed. The county is very fortunate to have this kind of mechanism in place.”

Now that the emergency has passed, Wiggins is looking to see the massive cleanup operation through — and he’s happy with the team at hand taking care of things day by day.

“Our city crews are working feverishly to the point of exhaustion, putting in overtime hours even on the weekends to get the brush picked up,” he said. “They’re taking it street by street, and I just ask that the citizens be patience, give us some forbearance, and we will get the job done in good time.”

Reflecting back on the disaster, Wiggins feels things were handled well.

“We had no fatalities, no serious injuries, and structural damage was at a minimum,” he said. “When you think about the enormity of the storm, that’s almost miraculous.”

MONTEREY — He’s seen this kind of thing plenty of times — loaded up the trailer with chainsaws and other tools, traveled thousands of miles to offer relief.

But just three weeks ago, Ken Hall and the Monterey Lions Club Disaster Response team didn’t have far to go — they were right in the middle of it.

“It was hard for the team to actually get together because of the damage,” said Hall, thinking back to the morning after the ice storm that left his hometown in a state of emergency. “We each had to just go where we could individually until we could get the roads cleared to where we could all get together.”

The team — which formed in 2008 in response to tornado damage in Macon County — is always ready to roll in times of disaster to aid those in need, including tornado-ravaged Oklahoma and floodstricken South Pittsburg in recent years.

They were happy to do the same thing for their neighbors.

“Without us knowing it, those other disasters all over the country were preparing us to be better equipped to handle a disaster here,” Hall said. “We had someone on the ground cutting and clearing roadways within five hours.”

Since that time, Hall’s role has broadened to that of volunteer coordinator for the town, having teamed up with Julie Bohannon, Monterey’s cultural administrator and depot curator, and Darrell Jennings of the Putnam County Fire Department.

“It entails registering the volunteers as they come in, making sure the paper work is complete and then sending them to sites that have requested help,” Hall said.

After all, he’s used to this type of situation.

“I guess it was because I had been to so many disasters and saw what worked and what didn’t,” he said.

In his travels elsewhere, he recalled hoping the same kind of help would come to Monterey if it were ever needed.

And that’s exactly what happened.

“Some of the larger teams like Samaritan’s Purse and Billy Graham’s group, we had worked with them in other disasters,” Hall said.

It’s been a humbling experience, he noted.

“I’m sure the victims feel the same way,” he said. “It really restores your faith in human nature at a time when there seems to be such turmoil in the world.”

Ty Kernea | Herald-Citizen

Volunteers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from McMinnville assist in cleaning up a trail from the depot to the library Saturday morning in Monterey. Clean up efforts continue after an ice storm caused severe damage and power outages a few weeks ago.

Hall just hopes the help keeps pouring in.

“We are still desperately in need of countless volunteers,” he said. “We have properties that have not been cleaned — and a lot of these properties belong to elderly residents who can’t do it themselves and can’t afford to pay to have it done.”

Those interested in helping with brush pickup should call the depot at 839-2111.

“That’s the main thing,” Hall said. “If they have a chainsaw and know how to use it, we can also use that. But our team has chainsaw guys — we can saw, and people can drag it next to the road. That helps a lot.”

So far, individual and group volunteers have been gathering on weekends at 8 a.m. at the depot to get their assignments before going out into the community.

Hall pointed out that the need for volunteers could last for months.

“I personally am gratful for the response,” he said. “Living here myself and seeing the devastation, I want to make sure that everybody who has volunteered or sent a prayer up for us knows we appreciate it.”

Ty Kernea | Herald-Citizen

Ken Hall talks with volunteers Saturday morning in Monterey before cleanup efforts continued in the wake of a massive ice storm which hit the Upper Cumberland a few weeks ago.

Brighter days ahead for citizens in spite of ice storm disaster

By AMY DAVIS HERALD-CITIZEN Staff

MONTEREY — Don’t be fooled by the sunshine and warmth.

Just three weeks ago, the days were anything but in Monterey.

“If you didn’t know any better, you’d think it never happened,” said Monterey cultural administrator and depot museum curator Julie Bohannon on a bright Thursday afternoon while reflecting on the ice storm disaster that crippled the town in the early morning hours of Feb. 21.

“I lost three weeks somewhere!” noted Bohannon, who, along with people like Ken Hall, who heads up the Monterey Lions Club Disaster Response team, and Darrell Jennings of the Putnam County Fire Department, has been instrumental in cleanup efforts in the aftermath of the storm.

It had been a different sort of hat for Bohannon to wear. Instead of leading visitors around the depot to view model trains and other relics, she answered phone calls and kept lists of citizens in need as well as those wishing to help them.

The depot itself became the goto place on weekend mornings for volunteers to get their work assignments.

“It’s just been amazing to watch people work together — not only those in our community but surrounding communities and even other states as well,” Bohannon said. “And it’s still not over.”

She noted that additional volunteers are making plans to help — and that’s a good thing because Monterey needs all the help it can get, she said — mostly with debris cleanup and yard work.

“Thankfully, there wasn’t a lot

Amy Davis | Herald-Citizen

Monterey cultural administrator Julie Bohannon speaks to board members in their March 2 meeting about the town’s disaster relief efforts. Bohannon, who is also the curator at the Monterey Depot Museum, has been keeping lists of citizens who need help — as well as volunteers who want to help them — for ongoing cleanup efforts following the ice storm that left Monterey in a state of emergency.

of structural damage,” she said.

The need is still great in other areas as well.

“Every day we get contributions of food, blankets and personal items,” Bohannon said.

“And we’re still cooking for volunteers. Last night I made two big pots of chili.”

Others are doing the same kind of thing — countless community and church groups.

A distribution center that had been in operation several days following the ice storm at the Monterey pallet company has since closed, but food donations are still being accepted at places like the depot and distributed among various church and com-

munity food banks in Monterey.

The depot has also been the place for those families without electrical power in the days following the storm to get vouchers for kerosine or propane, which could be picked up at places like Todd’s Convenience Mart and the Monterey Police Department.

“We’ve just had so many people in the community taking care of each other,” Bohannon said.

“What an awesome place!”

And Bohannon continues adding names to her lists at the depot — she especially hopes the list of volunteers continues to grow. Anyone wishing to help should call 839-2111.

Ty Kernea | Herald-Citizen

Jared Floyd of the Monterey Lions Club was one of several volunteers to have assisted with helping clean up Monterey after the ice storm.

Page 8 — ICE STORM 2015 — Sunday, March 15, 2015

EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM NOAA WEATHER ALERT RADIO One of the longest-running components of most emergency alert systems is the weather alert radio.

These radios, supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, are capable of running on AC power or on battery back-up. This makes them extremely useful in times of emergency where power may be out for long periods of time.

The radios are available in many retail stores in the area and come with instructions for programming to local channels. Many of the new radios have GPS technology in them and are capable of finding their location, no matter where you have them. This can be beneficial for those who travel or routinely visit other areas.

The radios are triggered by an alert form the National Weather Service office in Nashville during severe weather, and are also capable of receiving an alert from local emergency officials when needed.

“We used the weather alert radios during the ice storm to let people know about more incoming snow and ice, or extremely cold temperatures since many of them were without power and using auxiliary heat sources,” stated Putnam County EMA Director Tyler Smith.

With an average cost of $20-$30 per radio, they are affordable and serve as a reliable means of alert.

“We encourage every home and business to have a NOAA Weather Radio as one of their means of receiving alerts,” concluded Smith.

REVERSE 911 SYSTEM Putnam County uses a very popular system across the nation, known as a reverse 911 system.

This system takes the county’s 911 database (the list of names, addresses, and phone numbers that allows the 911 system to know important information about 911 callers) and issues a reverse call.

This means that emergency officials can select a zip code, street or neighborhood, or draw a shape on a map to determine who receives the alert, then initiate a mass call. The call sends a recorded message to thousands of phones in just minutes.

An additional function of the system allows citizens to register their cell phones as a primary contact number for their home address. “We are seeing many citizens that no longer have a landline home telephone and are instead opting for cell phones as their primary means of telephone communication,” states 911 director Mike Thompson.

“This system allows you to sign up to receive the same call everyone else receives at home, only on your cell phone,” Thompson added.

To register a cell phone number at a specific address, anyone interested can visit the Putnam County 911 website at www.putnam911.org and click the link to sign up. Once at the registration page, there are options to receive a phone call, text message, or email. Citizens may also enter multiple phone numbers and may also register multiple times to sign up for a home address, work address, child’s address, or elderly/disabled family member’s address. “We encourage everyone to register their cell phone for both their home and work address, at a minimum,” continued Thompson.

SOCIAL MEDIA As times change and technology is continually enhancing our lives, social media has become a way of life for many adults, both young and old.

Social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have become household names, and are also embraced by emergency services to communicate with the public.

“We figured out a long time ago that social media was a huge tool in our toolbox. We are able to send one message to thousands of people in just a few minutes,” states Brandon Smith, assistant director of special services for Putnam County 911. “We spend a lot of time interacting with our citizens on our social media accounts. We do our best to make sure we get messages on social media as soon as practical during times of emergency,” he continued.

Social media sites not only give emergency officials the capability to post messages, but also a chance for two-way dialogue. “We watch our social media accounts closely, to ensure if someone has a question or concern, we are doing our best to get them an answer or address their concern.

Many times it is a simple question that has nothing to do with emergency service, but if we know where to get them an answer we will,” concluded Smith.

Emergency officials also have the capability to quickly open emergency blogs and vlogs where typed or video messages can be posted for public information.

For official emergency alerts, follow Putnam County 911 on Facebook (putnam911tn) and Twitter (@putnam911tn) or the Putnam County Emergency Management Agency on Facebook (putnamematn) and Twitter (@putnamematn).

Other emergency services agencies also have Facebook and twitter accounts you can follow and keep up with day-to-day information, but 911 and EMA pages are considered official sources as part of the Emergency Alert System.

OUTDOOR WARNING SIRENS Throughout Putnam County, and its cities, you may occasionally spot large speakers mounted on utility posts or other aerial structures. These are commonly referred to as outdoor warning sirens

Emergency and local officials working in the Putnam County Emergency Operations Center in Cookeville. The EOC was soon moved to a satellite location in Monterey.

or tornado sirens. These wailing alarms have a distinct sound that often accompanies the otherwise silence of area neighborhoods.

Developed and installed during the Cold War era, the first outdoor warning sirens were operated

by Civil Defense (later changed to Emergency Management Agency) personnel to warn their communities during times of impending attacks.

At that time in history, the sirens were sounded both for initial warning and for an all clear signal.

Since that time, the sirens have remained in place, but have taken on a more frequent role of notifying communities of hazards to outdoor activities.

Emergency officials warn that outdoor warning sirens are often relied upon for indoor warning and that is not the intent of the system. “We have a lot of people who tell us they can’t hear their closest tornado siren inside their home or business. It is important for everyone to understand these sirens are designed to warn those who are outdoors that an emergency is occurring or eminent and they should seek shelter indoors,” states Tyler Smith. “Even though many times a tornado is indicated on radar or even been seen by a trained storm spotter, it doesn’t always mean the tornado will touch the ground and cause widespread damage. We activate the sirens to warn people that even if it isn’t a tornado, it is not safe to be outdoors – these storms are intense.”

Though outdoor warning sirens are placed in multiple areas of Putnam County, Smith explains that they are all activated once a warning is issued.

“We don’t pick and choose sirens only in one part of the county. If there is a significant indication of a potential tornado cell, the National Weather Service issues the warning and we let everyone know. That is important because severe storms and tornadoes are capable of changing paths without warning, and we feel it’s better to ensure everyone receives the warning and has time to seek shelter.”

The sirens are purchased by the individual municipalities in which they are placed, and are activated from the county’s Emergency Operations Center. There are times when warnings are issued without time for emergency managers to prepare, in which case Smith states they can also activate the sirens remotely, from radios inside certain vehicles or even from handheld radios.

Outdoors warning sirens are tested monthly, on the last Friday of each month at 10am, weather permitting. During the test, sirens can be heard performing one complete “wail” then remaining silent. When an actual warning is issued, sirens sound solid for three minutes at a time, and can be resounded for warnings that continue or heighten in urgency.

EAS WEBSITE Since many people do not have social media accounts, but occasionally browse the internet, Putnam County has a designated webpage for emergency information and alerts. During day-today business, the page is used for Putnam County 911’s general information and public outreach. It also contains a publicly-accessible map system that gives added features to Putnam County citizens.

“We use our website to educate anyone interested in what we do, and to give links to resources that allow us to expand upon our services. During times of larger emergencies we convert our website’s home page to a microblog where we can post information and links that pertain to the incident we are working,” states Penny Foister, assistant director of operations for Putnam County 911. “The website is a great place to get information about what we do, but it also gives us a place to add better descriptions, suggested actions, or pictures and video we want more readily available,” she concluded.

To visit the Putnam County 911 website, go to www.putnam911.org. You can also find information about Putnam County’s Emergency Alert System and other emergency services on the site.

HEARO FM ALERT RADIOS One system that Putnam County has relied upon for warning schools and public building of emergencies is the HEARO FM Alert Radio network.

The network utilized a special radio designed to receive alerts via FM radio transmitters of local radio stations. The radios are very much like NOAA Weather Radios, but give local emergency officials more flexible capabilities on activating them. These radios also have a digital display where information can scroll across the face of the radio.

Through a partnership with Stonecom Radio and Cookeville Communications, emergency messages are transmitted from emergency officials, through the respective FM transmitters, and into the individual radios. With an audible alert, optional flashing light, and digital display, the radios give an added layer of warning to areas with some of the county’s most vulnerable populations.

NIXLE TEXT ALERTS A specialized text messaging service, offered by Everbridge, Inc, allows citizens to register their cell phone numbers for text messaging of a different kind. These messages, originating from the company’s Nixle platform, are at no cost to citizens or the county. Though standard text messaging rates apply, emergency management officials send local weather watches and warnings, as they are issued by the National Weather Service.

Many citizens have come to rely on the Nixle messaging service for emergency information about weather events in Putnam County. EMA Deputy Director Sharon Womack explains, “We hear a lot of good feedback from people who rely on the text messages we send about weather watches and warnings. Since most people have a cell phone on or near them most of the day and night, it makes sense to reach them on those devices, wherever they are.”

Citizens who wish to sign up for Nixle text message alerts can visit the company’s website at www.nixle.com and enter information to be linked to Putnam County’s Nixle messaging.

MAINSTREAM RADIO Since emergencies happen without warning and time and information are of the essence, emergency services also work closely with local AM and FM radio stations to broadcast information to the community.

“We were very impressed with our local radio stations during the ice storm. Stonecom Radio was broadcasting live the first days of the storm and we were continuously sending them information and doing interviews to get the word out to the community,” explains Mike Thompson.

“Cookeville Communications was also very helpful in getting information out to their listeners and organized donation drives to help get supplies to citizens in the affected areas. It was very impressive to see their response to the events as they unfolded.”

With local radio stations having websites and social media feeds, in addition to their radio broadcasts, they were additionally important in sharing the message of emergency services to their already established listeners and web follower base.

NEW AGE EMERGENCY ALERTS A system that emergency officials are particularly excited to see coming is referred to as IPAWS (Integrated Public Alert and Warning Systems). Developed at the direction of Homeland Security Presidential Directive Number 5, IPAWS

will combine multiple systems of alerts into one, consolidated platform to send all alerts.

Brandon Smith explains, “Currently we have to go to five or six different systems and login, then compose and send the alerts in the format those systems require. IPAWS will bring all of the alert systems together, in one window, and will merely be a series of checkboxes. It utilizes a standardized messaging format that all of the different systems will understand.”

One system the new IPAWS structure provides local emergency officials is the capability to send text alerts to those who haven’t necessarily signed up for the alerts. That system is called Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) and is the same across the nation. The system was developed for local, state, and federal agencies, as well as presidential alerts. Many of the alerts are automatically triggered when National Weather Service Alert Coordinators activate components of the system, during weather warnings that instantly affect communities.

Wireless Emergency Alerts come to the receiver’s cell phone as soon as they are determined to be in the affected area. The system can even be set so that anyone who enters the alert area receives the alert at that time.

“IPAWS is really a game changer for emergency alerts and we are excited about it. It brings in new capabilities like cable and satellite TV alerts, radio broadcast interruptions, digital billboards, and even integrates with social media. It will be awhile before all of the features are in place across the country, but once the entire system is rolled out it is going to be great,” concluded Smith.

MASS EMAIL Putnam County has a unique partnership with local email system administrators for government agencies that allows a single email to be sent to thousands of local government employees and students. The system was established two years ago with the cooperation and technical expertise of email system administrators from the City of Cookeville, Putnam County, Putnam County School System, and Cookeville Regional Medical Center.

With email mechanisms established for large group emails to be sent to anyone who has an email address with the participating agencies, emergency officials can send messages directly to recipients, though they admit that is not the preferred method.

“We would always prefer to send the message to the agency so that they can put instructions specific to their operation before it is sent. However if time is of the essence, we can send the message and allow the agency to follow up with specific instructions,” states Penny Foister.

The email system has not been utilized for emergency information, but is tested occasionally to ensure they remain operational.

DIGITAL BILLBOARDS With the establishment of IPAWS, digital billboards will become a new technology available to most communities, but Putnam County already has some capabilities with digital billboards in the area.

Through a partnership established with Roland Advertising, local emergency services have 24 hour access to be able to craft and display an emergency message on local billboards. The system was used once already in the case of an Amber Alert from a nearby county where the suspects were expected to travel through Putnam County.

Officials have been pleased with the results of the existing partnership and are looking to establish relationships with other advertising companies to even better alert the community.

EMERGENCY DIAL 911 Non-Emergency 646-HELP www.putnam911.org