Bitter cold temps, snow create havoc for many

By Sandy Morris

After a week of record-breaking winter weather like most Shackelford County residents have never experienced before, the sun finally made an appearance last Friday, and by Saturday afternoon, the only snow left was in shadow or what had been pushed into piles.

While the City of Albany received its fair share of freezing temperatures, snow, and ice, all city and county officials agree that everyone involved came together and made the best of a bad situation. 

Water Supply

Albany city manager Billy Holson said he and other city officials were anticipating problems even before the icy weather hit. 

“The city contracted with Raydon Construction for a crew to help us keep things operating while we worked to maintain services,” Holson said. 

The city typically uses approximately half a million gallons of water per day according to Holson, but there were six out of the seven days of winter weather that the city used close to or over a million gallons of water per day. 

The West Central Texas Water District had agreed to give the city a million gallons, which helped the water situation locally; however, the Fort Griffin SUD used three times its normal amount of water.

“We had seven major leaks in either four or eight inch lines,” said Holson. “Our crews were able to isolate those areas, make repairs, and get water flowing again.”

Holson said the city crews did a great job and worked many hours to keep water flowing.

“Our guys did one heck of a job,” Holson said. “They were working 35 hours straight, going home for a few hours of sleep and coming back for another long stretch of work.”

Holson added that not only was the water plant staffed around the clock, but workers had to deal with issues without internet and cell service.

The city took 57 emergency calls from citizens about water issues, and Holson said that number didn’t include the number of calls that local and area plumbers received. 

On Tuesday, Holson said the water storage tanks were finally full and plant operators were able to shut down the water plant for general maintenance. 

“When you see the issues that larger cities like Abilene had, it really opens your eyes as to what we have here and how prepared we were,” Holson said.

Albany mayor Susan Montgomery was also appreciative of the work by city workers.

“I have no idea how many hours Billy and his crew put in last week, but it was a lot,” said Montgomery. “They did an outstanding job, and I would encourage our citizens to thank them if you have a chance.” 

Road Conditions

Miller said while his department received many calls for service, the county reported no accidents during the entire winter event. 

“We got lots of calls of people who were stranded  in the snow and needed to be pulled out,” Miller said. “But there were a lot of private citizens who helped pull stranded motorists out of snowy ditches, too.”

Miller added that aside from the two house fires last week, both of which were believed to be weather/electrical related, there were no property damage cases.

There was a fatality resulting from one of the fires.

“I just thank everyone for staying in, staying put, checking on their neighbors, and taking care of each other,” said Miller. “That’s part of the blessing of living in Shackelford County.”

Food Supplies

For citizens who were brave enough to make a trip to the grocery store, many found the shelves empty of basic staples. 

Local Brookshires manager Curt Manning said the weather really drained their resources. 

“We couldn’t get any deliveries into the store and had to reduce our hours of operation,” said Manning. “The staff did a fantastic job of helping our customers, and I’m very proud of them.”

Shackelford County Justice of the Peace James Breeden was contacted by Food Bank of West Central Texas director Patrick Dembach, who wanted to know if the county was interested in distributing boxes of food to county residents.

“Of course, I told him we were very interested because I knew that our families who receive monthly commodities had probably depleted their food supplies,” Breeden said. “I also knew there was a general shortage of basic staples like milk and thought all of our residents could benefit from the boxes.

Arrangements were quickly made for boxes of food to be delivered on Tuesday, and the city’s notification system was utilized to advise residents of the opportunity. 

The food was available to any residents in need of food, regardless of income.

“The food bank brought a total of 280 boxes of food,” said Breeden. “A little over half of those were distributed in Albany and the rest were delivered to citizens in Moran.”

Breeden said the food bank has already offered to deliver more boxes. The delivery may be short notice again, but the city notification system will be used when a date is set. 

Citizens who are not already on the notification system can be added to the list by contacting the city offices at 325-762-3133. 

Warming Center

Shackelford County sheriff Ed Miller said Albany resident Jennifer Price, who is married to SCSO Deputy Jason Price and serves as the Lueders city secretary, was made aware early last week of a number of Lueders citizens who were without power or water. 

Because part of Lueders sits in Shackelford County and because Albany wasn’t having the same level of distress, local officials jumped into action and were able to open a warming center at Albany’s First Christian Church.

First Baptist Church of Albany volunteered their bus to pick up residents who needed a way to the shelter, while others made their way to the warming center by personal vehicle.

“We had a total of 11 people from Lueders at our center for three days,” said county judge Robert Skelton. “Everyone jumped into action, from providing transportation, to the Ministerial Alliance organizing, to churches providing food.”

Skelton said the county submits a yearly emergency plan to the Texas Department of Emergency Management, and he was able to reach out to the district coordinator to secure 25 cots and blankets for the people sheltering at the center. 

“We were fortunate that TDEM had those items in stock and we were able to get them in Abilene,” Skelton said. “Many times the items requested are located in Dallas or San Antonio and are too far away to help.”

Skelton also thanked Albany ISD superintendent Jonathan Scott for opening the field house for showers.

The judge’s wife, Mindy Skelton, spent many hours at the church helping the Lueders residents with their needs.