Electric Co-op crews helping out
Special to the Gazette
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Nearly 100 volunteer linemen and dozens of trucks from 20 Kansas electric cooperatives went to Arkansas to assist in recovery efforts from a winter storm that swept across the southern Plains last week.
Among the crews that went to Arkansas were some from the Lyon-Coffey Electrical Co-op and Flint Hills co-op at Council Grove.
The Kansas crews assisted Carroll Electric Cooperative, headquartered in Berryville, Ark. The electric cooperative estimated they had tens of thousands of outages caused by the ice storm. Forty-eight counties throughout northern and central Arkansas were declared to be in a state of emergency and therefore are eligible for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“Our crews will need to clear fallen trees and utility poles that snapped from the weight of the ice before power lines can be restrung,” said Stacey Marston, loss control, safety and compliance instructor for Kansas Electric Cooperatives. “As of yesterday, the cooperative still had more than 11,000 members without power.”
The Kansas crews, who traveled from all parts of the state, were coordinated by KEC, headquartered in Topeka, which is the statewide association of the Kansas electric cooperatives. KEC coordinates crews during emergencies such as ice storms or tornadoes.
Electric cooperatives have a long tradition of offering assistance to neighboring systems and to other states in times of crisis.
“Following our recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina, our linemen earned the nickname of the Kansas Cavalry Cowboys,” Marston explained. “The dedication of these linemen is tremendous.”