Shock & Thaw

Cooperation Praised, But Judge Says Questions Need Answers

Fayette County Judge Joe Weber praised residents, first responders and other public service employees who worked together last week to start the recovery process following the historic winter storm.

“It was a great effort,” Weber said. “I applaud everyone who was helping out. Even though we closed our offices as the county, a lot of county employees were out working and helping out.”

Public works employees in all of the municipalities also deserve a pat on the back, he said. In addition, he praised the Sheriff’s Office for the numerous welfare checks they performed as out-of-town relatives called to check on their loved ones.

“We had farmers out in the country pulling out our EMS ambulances that got stuck while going out on calls,” he said. “We had private citizens stopping and helping out the linemen crews who got stuck while trying to get our electric system back up and running. It was amazing to see everyone coming together.”

Weber said all four County Commissioners put their crews to work supplying non-potable water to residents. Local fire departments also assisted in this effort.

“Late Friday afternoon, we were getting a lot of requests for non-potable water to flush toilets and water livestock,” Weber said. “We got all the commissioners together with the fire departments and got the fire trucks out in different locations where people could get water.”

While praising the teamwork, Weber said he has some questions for the people who control the power grid.

“How did these rolling blackouts affect the county and who makes those decisions?” Weber asked. “Schulenburg got hammered. Our power went off for a little while in Round Top, but people told me the power never really went off in Flatonia. It’s amazing to me. Why is that? I’m going to find out.”

Weber said he has called a meeting of local leaders on Monday to begin asking those questions.

“We’re going to have a hot wash up tomorrow,” Weber said in an interview with the Record Sunday afternoon. “We’re setting up a meeting with local officials to figure out what went wrong and what went right.”

Weber said many citizens called the County to ask for places to warm up and take showers. He said the County had developed a plan during the storm to open up two or three facilities as warming centers. Weber said he decided against opening those facilities due to the danger of people driving long distances on the icy roads.

“If they got stuck in one of these places for three or four days, we wouldn’t be able to feed them,” Weber said.

Weber proposed working with the local ministerial alliances and school districts to provide shelter and hot showers the next time a similar event occurs.

“I’d like to see the churches get more involved,” Weber said. “Can they open up facilities to help out with showers? Also the school districts – if they’ve have gyms with showers, can we use them for some temporary relief?”

Furthermore, Weber said the County could use the old EMS building in La Grange to store blankets, drinking water and portable showers. That building also has a backup electrical generator.

Weber said the County’s facilities weathered the storm fairly well. One exception was a large water line that busted and flooded the County Clerk’s office. The Courthouse also suffered a few busted water pipes.