In Pike County, we’re lucky. We have elected and appointed officials who know how to handle times of crisis.

When Winter Storm Leon hit, Pike County was immobilized for more than 24 hours. The entire county shut down. Well, almost the entire county shut down.

Throughout the storm, local officials worked tirelessly to keep citizens up to date on the state of the roads in and around Pike County.

Despite the snow and ice, members of the Troy Police Department, Brundidge Police Department and Pike County Sheriff’s Department responded to reports of wrecks throughout the day.

Local school officials at Troy City Schools, Pike County Schools and Pike Liberal Arts, and others, made the right call in canceling school on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Across Alabama, more than 11,000 students had to spend the night in their schools because school officials hesitated in canceling classes. In Pike County, no children had to spend the night at their schools.

It speaks volumes about our local leadership that a small community like Pike County can handle winter weather than the big metropolis of Atlanta.

While Winter Storm Leon was one of the most damaging storms to hit the county in recent years, it could have been much worse. It is only through the intervention of our public officials and our public safety officials that a bad situation was able to be mitigated.

So, as a county, we thank our public officials for all the work they put in to keeping Pike County safe and running during this icy weather.