Wanda English Burnett, Editor

A cold front brought a lot more than cold air Sunday, September 14 as remnants of Hurricane Ike made its way through Ripley County. From Holton to Morris and down to Friendship, reports came in of heavy wind damage, downed power lines and fallen trees.

There was one fatality due to the storm. According to Chuck Gunter, spokesperson for the Versailles Volunteer Fire Department, rescue crews responded to the Versailles State Park where a tree had fallen on a 64-year-old man. Donna Million, dispatcher for the county’s 911 center, confirmed a man was transported to Margaret Mary Community Hospital, and did not survive. No additional information was available concerning the man’s name or residence. Rescue workers believed he was camping with his wife in the area and was from another state.

Ripley County Emergency Management Director Wayne Peace said the wind caused damage throughout the county with power outages still being felt on Monday morning, the day after the storm blew through.

Winds were confirmed in the county at 73 miles per hour, with some news stations reporting up to 80 miles per hour. “That a Level I Hurricane,” according to dispatcher Million, who said “Ike” caused them grief at the communications center. At one point in the midst of multiple calls coming in, the 911 system went down. “There were no working telephones or cell phones,” she noted, saying the problem was with Verizon, not the communications center, which was operating on generator power. “All we had were radios,” she told the Osgood Journal.

Million reported they weren’t the only 911 center that had problems. She said at one point Batesville’s system was down. The good thing was, when Batesville was down, Ripley County was running, and they could share the calls and get the help to people who needed it. “I think this was worse than the ice storm,” Million said, referring to an ice storm a couple of years ago that left people without power for days.

Many people are without phone service, with the newspaper being among those. No one can call the office, and only two lines are available to call out. If you need to contact the newspaper office, you may do so by sending a emial message to: publication@ripleynews.com or if the content is editorial, email: wburnett@ripleynews.com or stop by the office at 115 S. Washington Street in Versailles.
Linda Chandler, publisher of the Osgood Journal and The Versailles Republican noted that technicians have checked out the phone service and hope to have it in operation by Tuesday (today) evening.

Barry Lauber with Southeastern Indiana REMC reported that it could be several days before power is fully restored to the area they serve. All across the county households lost power when the powerful winds roared through on Sunday. Some were fortunate enough to gain that service yet Sunday evening, and others are still “in the dark.” If you have power outages and need to report to REMC you can do so by going online at barryl@seiremc.com, where updates are also given.

Duke Energy is also reporting that it could be several days before the area is restored to full electric power. Officials reported there were about 8000 without power at one point with a little more than half restored by Monday morning. Peace noted with the hurricane in Texas, many of Duke’s crews were headed there, spreading their workforce thin. Outages can be reported at www.duke-energy.com.
Peace said the storm brought a variety of problems from the lack of telephone service and power to numerous trees down throughout the county. He said the stoplights at Versailles were not working, and people were just courteously taking their turns. He reported official wind gusts in the county at 73 miles per hour, with 50 to 60 mile per hour winds lasting for several hours. A lot of people lost utility sheds, parts of roofs, and outdoor lawn furniture.

The roof at the St. Anthony’s Church in Morris, sustained heavy damage, as well as a mobile home in the area that was heavily hit, according to Peace. Sandy Vanderbur, director of the Ripley County Chapter of the American Red Cross said they assisted the family at Morris, who couldn’t stay in their mobile home after the wind ripped off the roof. She noted that due to Hurricane Ike, the Ripley County Red Cross is helping those victims as well. “Food and shelters will be needed indefinitely, along with the counseling needed to help get through this devastating disaster,” she told the Osgood Journal.

If anyone would like to help victims of the hurricane, they can send a monetary donation to the Ripley County Red Cross PO Box 221, Versailles, IN 47042, marking the checks for Disaster Relief (National) for hurricanes or Disaster Relief (RCARC) for local disasters. You can call the local Red Cross at 812-689-6308.

Schools closed
Due to the number of county roads that were still closed Monday morning, school officials across the county made the decision to not have school. Ted Ahaus, superintendent of South Ripley schools, reported that the construction area at the high school sustained minimal damage, such as port-o-pots moved and things of that nature. The new walls were still in tact, contrary to some reports that two walls had fallen. “No, we didn’t lose any walls,” the superintendent said. There was some tree damage at the elementary school and some roof damage at the administration building.

Saying if at all possible, they would have school on Tuesday, Ahaus even said it might be good because students could use the shower facilities and get “something warm to eat.” He said he knows there are many people who probably still won’t have power yet on Tuesday.

Milan’s interim superintendent Gene Pitts noted that the school board meeting scheduled for Monday, September 15, was being rescheduled due to the school not having electricity. He noted there wasn’t any damage at the schools.

Jac-Cen-Del schools reported damage to the gym area.
Commissioner Robert Reiners was out with the county highway department until late Sunday evening and noted there were several roads closed. He said a lot of trees were being removed by county workers, but many couldn’t be dealt with until power lines were removed.

There were reports of a lady being injured at Friendship when a tree fell, and another who sustained damage when the wind literally picked her up. People visiting the Friendship Shoot said tents were flying, along with a lot of other debris and when leaving the area many roads were blocked by fallen trees. But, on Monday morning, there was little evidence of the damage as people worked hard to restore the area and make it friendly for the week long events that are taking place at the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association.

While Ripley County did not officially declare a Level I emergency, many surrounding counties did.
Many people were scrambling on Monday morning to find generators. Halcomb Home Center was sold out and was expecting a shipment on Tuesday. Wayne Peace noted that refrigeration of perishable food is a great concern to many residents. He noted that food must stay at a consistent temperature of 41 degrees or colder. “Bacteria grows rapidly,” he told the Osgood Journal, reminding people to be careful with food products. He said the Versailles Super Valu had a refrigerated truck that stored their food until power could be restored. He said the Osgood JayC Store had the same back-up system in place. He noted that the health department used a generator on Sunday to keep medications cold.

Peace noted if people can’t get a generator and are afraid they are going to lose their food, they can donate it to the local food pantries, who, according to him, have “bare shelves.” He concluded, “Just make a list of the items for insurance purposes before taking the food to the pantries.”

Fire departments, first responders, rescue crews, dispatchers, and police agencies worked throughout the afternoon and night on Sunday, along with multiple utilities crews.