W.Va. Guard soldiers deliver food, water to Pickens residents

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Debra Richardson | A soldier with the 115th Engineering Battalion out of Clarksburg, W.Va., cuts a large tree in order to move it out of the road in Pickens, W.Va. National Guard chainsaw crews have been dispatched to numerous parts of the state to help eliminate trees and other debris from roads as part of the Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.  

PICKENS, WV, WV, UNITED STATES

11.03.2012

Story by Staff Sgt. Debra Richardson 

153rd Public Affairs Detachment

PICKENS, W.Va.- "I'm glad you're finally here, we're in desperate need of your help," exclaimed Thrayron Morgan, wife of a National Guard soldier and long-time resident of the area. "The state road has done a lot but there's still a few roads they haven't cleared."

As is with most communities, when natural disasters strike, neighbors reach out to neigh ors to create a support network until relief organizations are dispatched.

But after four days and still no power, no phones and limited food and water, the residents of Pickens were ecstatic to see W.Va. Army National Guard Humvees pull in to town.

"Those who are able have been out clearing the roads from snow and checking on their neighbors," Morgan explained. "But we have a few people, mostly elderly, that we can't get to."

With water and Meals Ready to Eat, or MRE's, stacked in his Humvee, Sgt. Robert Jackson and Pfc. Tyler Honaker, both with the 1-201 Field Artillery Battalion, C Battery out of Lewisburg, began a journey around Pickens.

"Thrayron Morgan was a great help, she gave us a list of people who were bedridden, had medical needs or whose roads hadn't been cleared yet," Jackson said. "While it might seem like a simple thing, going house-to-house and knocking on doors to ensure elderly and sickly people are being cared for is critical. With no phones and no power, this is the perfect situation for a
worst-case scenario."

Of the many stops Jackson made, one of the most alarming issues raised was either lack of a generator or lack of fuel to run the generator. Many of the elderly use breathing machines, nebulizers or require frequent medication refills. As a precautionary measure, Jackson made a list of the various needs from each family and relayed the information up the chain of command.

During a state emergency the teams in the field are the first line of communication for the citizens of West Virginia. Once the citizens have been assessed by the National Guard team, the team puts in a detailed report that gets routed through the county emergency operations center for them to determine how to support these individuals in the future.

One of the later stops Jackson and Honaker made was to the home of a 15 year-old boy, Brandon, who suffered a brain tumor at a very young age and now lives off a feeding tube, breathing machine and nebulizer.

While the family was prepared with a generator, the power outage prevented them from obtaining fuel from the local gas station to keep it running. They will be forced to travel over 35 miles to the nearest town unless the power is restored soon.

"Its stops like that that makes you really proud of wearing this uniform and helping this community," Jackson said. "I think we just made that boy's day by stopping in and checking on him."

Even though the snow has slowly been melting away, Pickens residents are preparing for the worst as reports of heavy rain showers are expected to hit next Tuesday.

"If we get cold rain on top of all this snow, I'm fearful we're going to experience ice and compact, frozen snow banks," Morgan said. "This rain storm has the potential to knock more trees over and prolong this power outage."

The power outage, now on it's seventh straight day, has wreaked havoc across the state. But this is one area where the National Guard is seeing big improvements.

"We have chainsaw teams working with some of the power companies to quickly rid the roads of debris and help clear the way for the power trucks," Jackson said. "Many of the fallen trees are very old and big and cutting them up and moving them out of the way takes time."

"Our goal is to clear all the roads of debris and snow, assist the power companies in any way we can so the residents will eventually get power and ensure they have the ability to get to town to get supplies and medications that they need."

Jackson delivered cases of water and MRE's to the Pickens Volunteer Fire Department, where residents can come and collect those items if they need them. The fire department will also assist in delivering those items to the elderly or anyone who can't get to the fire department.

• Date Taken: 11.03.2012
• Date Posted: 11.04.2012 15:57
• Story ID: 97268
• Location: PICKENS, WV, WV, US
• Hometown: ELKINS, WV, US
• Hometown: LEWISBURG, WV, US