Writer praises the heroes that live in area communities

Vox Pop

Heroes among us.

I’ve been trying to find a way to write this without crossing any lines. On December 16, 2021 I had no power at 2 a.m. I called Excel Energy, they sent back a reply. We are working on lines to find the problem, will send more info as it comes in. It was cold that day and below zero. We had just gotten 14 inches of snow 5 days before on December 11. I had power restored by 6 p.m., that same night text message said 7 p.m. Others were a few days later. I saw a lot of those people who work for the Power Companies. Every day they came in, and they were pleasant, humble, you could see they were tired and weary from being up all night and working a lot of hours to restore power. Not to mention all the snow. They were talking on their phones to their fellow workers where problems might be. Never raising their voice and never a sound of anger or frustration. On December 20, 2021, Taylor County Electric Cooperative lineman named Justin comes into our store. I waited on him, before he left, I said have a great day, see you next time and thank you for your service. He stopped dead in his tracks, turned around and smiled and said thank you and left with a smile. I also asked an Excel Energy lineman to stop by my register after his phone call was complete. I also thanked him for his service and he smiled and said thanks. These people put in long days, through rain, snow, tornados, damaging winds, ice, freezing temperatures, I just wanted them to know they don’t go unnoticed and they are heroes among us. If it wouldn’t be for these heroes, a lot of people would have had frozen water pipes and very cold homes with the below zero temperatures.

So when and if you see them out and about, thank them for their service and you’ll see a big smile.

— Barb Olson, Chelsea