We all survived

(once again)

September 2016 saw Hurricane Hermine make landfall in Florida’s panhandle, cross right over us and on to the Carolina’s and up to Massachusetts. In our area, we saw a lot of downed trees and a lot of homes with damage.
In September 2017, we were greeted by Hurricane Irma. Irma hit the Keys and then came onshore around Marco Island/Naples. From there, it moved up the state of Florida with the eye passing directly over Madison County. Irma didn’t hurt us, in this area, as much as Hermine did. But, yet the entire state of Florida (almost) was affected and so our power outages were longer lasting.
But, no matter how bad we thought those two were, or how blessed we felt because we knew it could have been worse … nothing prepared us for this year’s Hurricane Michael.
Michael came upon us in a matter of a few days. Many people didn’t have time to prepare or evacuate because of the uncertainty of its path. Originally, Michael was supposed to make landfall, over Panama City and then take a hard veer to the east and pass back over Tallahassee. However, around noontime on Wednesday, that track changed and instead of veering east it was predicted that Michael would head north-northeast and move on into Georgia. That was good news to us in Jefferson and Madison County; but not-so-good news to our friends and neighbors in Marianna and up into Bainbridge, Ga., and the surrounding areas.
As a county, we saw downed power lines, downed trees, a few trees on houses, and a lot of debris left lying in our yards. But we saw no major injuries, no major flooding, and no deaths. For all of that, we should be thankful!
We should be forever grateful for all the “behind the scenes” emergency personnel in our county. The Emergency Management staff, sheriff’s department, police department, EMS, firefighters, city and county employees, and volunteers. These men and women worked hours/days of overtime to ensure all of our safety. Hours upon hours of strategic planning took place, all unbeknownst to most of us.
Through all this destruction, it is heartwarming at the generosity that is coming forward; the donations that are piling in. We have a story, on the front page, with a list of needed/suggested items and several donation locations that you may drop items off to. Please look deep into your hearts … and hear the cries of those less fortunate than us, at this moment. The cities of Panama City, Port St. Joe, Mexico Beach, Apalachicola, Marianna, Altha, Greenwood, and Bainbridge, Ga. have thousands of citizens living day-to-day needing food, water, toiletry items, blankets and baby items.
We also have a story on this same front page of a local family that needs help, stemming from Hurricane Michael. If you would like to help donate to the Hill family, they need livestock feed, storage boxes and packing boxes. Their home was a total loss and they are needing to pack-up all their belongings, to move to another location. All donations can be taken to the Jefferson County Property Appraiser’s office.
And please, let’s not forget to extend our support to the electric personnel and linemen. As inconvenient as it is being without power, please always try to remember that it was not/is not as inconvenient as working as much as a 15-hour day, climbing a pole, and doing dangerous work for seven days straight! And many of our electrical workers come from out-of-state and are away from their families for weeks at a time! All of these men deserve a huge “Thank You!”
So, I end this column this week with a big thank you to God for keeping all of my family and friends safe during this storm. I also give a huge “shout-out” to the men and women of Jefferson County who gave of themselves unselfishly in order to keep my family and friends safe and to restore our electricity back in due time! And I send prayers up for all the families, throughout Florida and Georgia, that weren’t as lucky as we were.
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. - Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)