Mingo, Pike Countians enter

ninth day without electricity


In their eighth day without electricity yesterday, Mingo and Pike County residents, many of whom are also without water, are struggling to understand the situation and survive.

Mingo County was hardest hit by a storm which teemed more than a foot on the ground in some places and 2 feet in others.

The last count at press time was 21,000 of customers in West Virginia and Virginia still without electricity — more than 17,000 were in West Virginia, and more than 5,300 are from Mingo County, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Shelters are in place in several areas, where officials handed out water, kerosene, emergency crews will deliver the needed items to those who need them, Mingo Emergency Management Director Jared Fletcher said.

However, residents in Breeden say they have had trouble adjusting to life without electricity and want it back.

"We're the butt end of the county and were not getting any help," said Sharon Stafford, who expressed concern for her neighbors, mostly elderly in their 70s, 80s, and 90s, and some children. "I can survive

Asserting no one had been out to her area with supplies until Saturday morning, at which time someone brought kerosene and water only and distributed it to the residents at the mouth of Breeden. However, Stafford said many could not go to where the supplies were located, as they had used up their gasoline "trying to get warm."

Stafford said the low-income residents, most of whom are elderly, had lost all the food they bought for Christmas, and since they had already filled their freezers with their food stamps, they had nothing left to purchase food and supplies.

"People at Breeden are starving," Stafford said, asserting she bought oil to cook on a Coleman oil stove , but was running low and couldn't find anymore, as people have bought all the supplies.

Another concerned Breeden resident calling the Williamson Daily during the one hour of phone service she got yesterday was Crystal Newsome, who has been living the rough way of life while trying to care for three kids.

"It was horrible and the whole house is a mess," Newsome said, adding she had to melt snow to wash dishes for her family, which includes her husband and kids ages 15, 8, and 2.

The younger kids are afraid to go through the house,and the 8-year-old is sleeping with a flashlight, Newsome said.

They have heat, gas-powered, and they found a generator which will give them electricity in two outlets at a time. The refrigerator gets one always unless its time to turn it off for a bit as the gasoline-fueled machine gets expensive.

Asserting the family is now carrying water from the creek to flush their toilet, Newsome said, "You don't know how nice power is until you do without it. Especially with a 2-year-old who doesn't understand and says repeatedly, ' I really want to watch cartoons.'"

The family is afraid to leave because of looting which has been going on in the area.

The Newsomes didn't let the situation ruin their Christmas, however, as everyone gathered around the tree and used one of the outlets to plug in the lights, by which the family could see well enough to open gifts. Afterwards, they cleaned up what they could see and unplugged the tree.

AEP officials could not be reached at press time to determine how much longer they estimate the people will go without power.