Vicksburg always comes together in the tough times

The storms that damaged buildings and ripped through the community yesterday caused a lot of property damage and, sadly, killed a family horse near Bovina Cutoff.

But as far as anyone knows no one else was injured and as always Vicksburg pulled together. The family at Eagle Lake that lost part of their roof to the storm was assisted by neighbors and friends almost immediately. They are in the same house that lost all that land in 2019 to flood erosion in a widely viewed video. Then, as now, neighbors helped to save the day.

There were branches down and power lines down all over the county but by this morning almost everyone has power again. Thank you Twin County and Entergy for your hard work. Stay safe and thank you again.

A power pole snapped by tornadic winds near on Bovina Cutoff near Duncan road. Photo by David Day

The road crews were nothing short of amazing. City and county crews were out clearing trees from roadways and making roads passable for hours on end. Thank you for what you do. Most of the time you do it with snide comments from folks who don’t understand safety and OSHA laws, but today let the entire community praise you and your efforts.

There was also that debacle with the schools making the decision to let students out in the middle of the storm. Early in the morning, John Elfer with Emergency Management had recommended they keep the kids in school because it was the safest place for them. “Those school buildings are robust and offer a level of protection that a single-family structure or mobile home cannot. Plus they have a tornado plan in place,” was his exact quote to the Vicksburg Daily News a couple of hours before the storm hit and shortly after the school district decided to keep the schools in session. What he didn’t say was those kids would also get to eat lunch. Food insecurity is an issue for many of our students and anytime we can guarantee they are fed is the best scenario.

The Vicksburg Daily News has emailed Christi Kilroy with the district for an explanation of the thought process that led to the school district releasing the children at that time. We will share the response with the community.

The Bovina Cutoff area was by far the hardest hit by this storm. There is a mile-long path of destroyed trees and damaged buildings. A normally quiet neighborhood near Bovina Cutoff and Duncan road had several damaged homes. The crew that responded to that area, including Patriot Motor Sports owner Allen Pugh, opened the roadway with their own equipment and assisted dozens of homeowners when they needed it most.

Tornado damage near Bovina Cutoff. Photo by Alle

Law enforcement and first responders including Reed Birdsong with Emergency Management and Sheriff Martin Pace were out checking on people and directing resources where they were needed.

The second wave of storms veered south and east of us and spared us from what could have been.

Throughout the day today, we will see our first responders, road crews, law enforcement and energy workers helping us recover from the strongest storms we’ve seen in a while. You will also see countless citizens helping where they can because that is who we are as a community.

Let’s hold people accountable for the good and the bad they do, but let us not be divisive about it. Let us, as a community, work together to improve and be thankful for our neighbors.

A downed tree near Bovina Cutoff. Photo by David Day