(HOST) Commentator Linda Durkee was in the Rutland area during last week’s big storm and its aftermath. She says it was an interesting opportunity to observe nature – human and otherwise.
(DURKEE) Nearly everyone in Rutland was without power. The Rutland Herald, in its April 17th edition, ran a banner headline, calling the city “ground zero ” A weather expert termed the storm a “nor’ hurricane,” due to the strong winds, intense rain, and relatively high temperatures. The last fact was a godsend, given the depths to which Vermont temperatures can sink.
No section of the city escaped. On Bellevue Avenue, at least five utility poles were reported down. It looked like a war zone. Throughout the city, fallen trees blocked traffic.
A local radio station fielded calls for hours. People called in with needs, others with responses. A lady called in to ask about transportation. Another telephoned to say her son was driving nearby.
A man called in to say a store, which was said to be open with generators to sell, was not. Another called to say he didn’t have a pump, but he did have a generator to share.
Several hotels at the south end of Rutland ran special rates for residents trying to get out of the dark and the cold. A lady called in to offer her home to anyone with toddlers who needed a place to stay with heat and food. She said many families couldn’t afford the discounted prices, babies wouldn’t wait for warmth, and people needed to help one another.
A man called in to ask was there a shelter. He was told: yes, the Open Door Mission on Park Street. There also was a shelter in nearby Brandon.
And the Red Cross set up a shelter at the CVPS Leahy Room at the Rutland Regional Medical Center. The hospital, mercifully, had power.
One hundred thirty-three 911 calls came in to the Rutland City Fire Department as of 5 PM the first day after the storm. The previous record was thirty-three.
Fortunately there were no reports of serious injuries or deaths due to the storm. Teams of local, county, and state workers, along with power company staff and many others, went to work to restore Rutland to its usual rhythms, with help coming in from other states and Canada.
And as things began to return slowly to normal, I realized there was a second headline in the Herald that morning, appearing just above the ground-zero banner headline: sweet news from the silver lining department. It read: “Red Sox complete sweep of Angels”.
Linda Durkee lived in the Washington, DC, area for many years where she was a speech writer, journalist, and artist. She now resides in Vermont where she continues to write, photograph, and paint.