This has been a "character builder" of a week and the conditions aren't over yet.
During the past 24 hours, alone, the department has responded to 12 calls including housefires, gas leaks and medical calls. This week has seen many falls on the ice with attendant head, back and limb injuries. Getting to some of the calls has been tricky as the iced roads makes travel tough or impossible for many vehicles, including some of ours.
We continue to respond to calls and look forward to warmer temperatures next week. (Try not to think of the five straight days of rain... ) However, we want to stress the following:
There is another 48 hours of below freezing temperatures ahead of us.
We know cabin fever has people eager to get out but please keep the following in mind:
Many of the village streets are still iced up, some badly, despite the many hours of work in tough conditions by our Public Works Department. (Pause for standing ovation.) Cars and trucks remain stuck in the middle of streets or on the sides. You could still become one of them, so be very careful when you decide to venture out.
If you're using space heaters, keep them away from curtains, mattresses and anything flammable. (Many of you are probably thinking, "Duh..." but we see enough things which make us nervous that this is worth stressing.)
Keep a close eye on your plumbing as the thaw arrives. If you have frozen pipes, you may not know it yet. (That's a nice surprise that will pop up once the ice plugging that break thaws.) Keep an eye on your outside hose connections. You may want to try opening them up for a second or two to see if they run. If not, you may just have a problem you can still head off by getting a plumber on the horn. If the water is down to a trickle, run it for a bit to see if it improves flow. Remember, if you get a break at a hose connection, you may not see it outside as the water will be running out inside the wall. Also, listen to the piping near your main inside water shut off line. If you hear water running and you have nothing open, it's time to get concerned.
Snow removal- Don't get cocky. If you shouldn't be shovelling snow, don't. There are plenty of outfits on NextDoor and Tellico Facebook offering the service. If you don't want to shell out the money, a thaw will be here soon. Wait for it. (Netflix and Don't chill.)
Finally, look out for each other. If you have older or house-bound neighbors, check in on them. We've had some running short on supplies. Make good use of that 4-wheel drive of yours and do some shopping or pharmacy runs if needed.
Remember, we're all in this together. (Except Chad. See previous post.)
Take care and stay warm.
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