utilities officials say

By BETH LAKEY

Staff Writer

Many Troy residents woke up shivering Wednesday morning because they had no heat.

Late Wednesday, employees with the Troy Utilities Department were still puzzled as to why power was off in the northern portion of the city.

Troy Mayor Jimmy Lunsford spent most of Wednesday freezing right alongside the utilities department employees who worked all day to get power restored to residences, traffic signals and businesses.

"It took a long time to narrow it down," Lunsford said of possible problem areas. Approximately 200 customers were without power.

"We had a lot of people working in some mighty bad conditions," Lunsford said, praising the city employees who braved the elements to make sure everyone at home was warm.

"It’s always interesting to go out with the crews," Lunsford said. "You really learn to appreciate the knowledge those men have."

There is still no official reason for the power outages, but city workers rerouted power from some areas to other neighborhoods and even resorted to bringing out a generator to get the traffic signal at U.S. 231 and South Three Notch Street back in operation.

"It was frustrating for them, as well as the citizens who were without power," Lunsford said of crews working on the power lines.

Although no cause of the widespread power outages has been determined, Lunsford said he was proud of all the city employees.

In addition to the utilities crews, police officers spent a great deal of time in the cold and sleet, directing traffic.

Unlike Troy, Brundidge reported no power outages said Brundidge Mayor Jimmy Ramage.

A minor disaster was possibly avoided because of preparedness.

Although Tuesday was a holiday, employees with the city’s electric department were out taking down the city’s Christmas lights, which are about 40 years old.

Ramage thanked the crews for getting out on a holiday and taking down the lights because "rain, sleet and freezing temperatures do not do well with those bulbs."

Throughout the county, road department crews kept a close eye on bridges, which are prone to freezing, and roadways.