State disaster relief teams among those called to help after ice storm

Alabama Baptist disaster relief teams have been hard at work moving debris in Kentucky towns ever since a major ice storm swept through the Bluegrass State in late January.

The storm system caused at least 29 deaths in Kentucky, with more suspected in Arkansas, Texas, Missouri, Virginia, Oklahoma, Indiana, West Virginia and Ohio. More than 700,000 homes and businesses in Kentucky were left without power.

“Until the small debris is able to be moved, the electric company’s not going to come in to work,” said Tommy Puckett, Alabama Baptist disaster relief director. “Right now, we’re pushing hard to clean out all the yards.”

At press time, teams from Limestone, Tennessee River and Colbert Lauderdale Baptist associations were doing chain-saw cleanup and recovery work in Bardwell, Ky., and volunteers from Elmore, Chilton, Birmingham, Bessemer and Cleburne Baptist associations were doing similar work in Richmond, Ky.

Also at press time, a team from St. Clair Baptist Association was preparing to leave with a bucket truck and other heavy equipment for Bardwell, Ky.

“Once the bucket truck is there, they will be able to finish up the jobs high in the trees,” Puckett said.

The teams are placing special priority on jobs for the elderly, he added, noting that in the Bardwell area especially, the needs were widespread. “It’s going to take a lot of manpower,” Puckett said, adding that volunteers from Florida were also helping the effort nearby.

Alabama teams in Richmond were hoping to wrap up their work by Feb. 13, but in Bardwell, “we may possibly have to go another week,” Puckett said.

A team out of Huntsville also left Feb. 3 to man a feeding unit set up by The Salvation Army in Henderson, Ky.

About 15 chain-saw teams were deployed in Arkansas, including one from the Kansas/Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists and some from the Louisiana Baptist Convention.

Chain-saw teams in Missouri and Oklahoma were helping residents recover within their states, and several Tennessee teams were working in Missouri.

In Illinois, 15 chain-saw teams from the Illinois Baptist State Association have been activated, and in Ohio, a feeding unit from the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio was operating in the southern part of the state, according to the North American Mission Board. (TAB, BP)