Reprinted with permission by The Southern
Wednesday, May 13, 2009 10:08 PM CDT
Voice Of The Southern Utility 'angels' deserve our respect, appreciation
Our View: Adversity can bring out the best in people, as we've seen from the legion of utility rescuers who are on the job around-the-clock.
It seems they are everywhere in Southern Illinois, from our most inaccessible and swampy locations to the high-visibility spots along our busiest roads.
It seems, too, that it doesn't matter much about the time of day or the weather conditions. This is a dedicated, task-focused legion of hard-working, service-minded professionals.
We are talking, of course, about the utility workers who rushed to the aid of Southern Illinois as word spread about the inland hurricane, as some call it, that damaged and wrecked homes by the hundreds, felled trees by the score and essentially wiped out the electrical infrastructure of our region.
Nurses often are called angels of mercy, and justifiably so, but perhaps the term also can be shared with the region's rescuers from Ameren, Southeastern Illinois Electric Cooperative and Egyptian Electric Cooperative. It certainly would be appropriate.
Think just a moment about this temporary army that is at our service. Ameren, alone, has a power restoration workforce that tops 2,200. They are both employees and contract workers, coming from Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Indiana, Michigan, Kansas and Iowa. That crew includes 1,000 linemen.
Their duties look beyond the ability of humans. Many homes today are glowing with lights and the dancing images of television in neighborhoods that a few days ago resembled a war zone - power poles snapped like matchsticks, electrical transmission lines torn to the ground by falling trees and roadways strewn with limbs and other tree debris.
Workers in hardhats, steel-toed boots and heavy protective gear are getting the job done. They won't really rest until the work is completed since, as an example, the workers for Ameren are working 16 and 18-hour shifts that allow restoration efforts to continue in shifts around the clock.
But that's not the entire story of our local heroes. Ameren also opened customer service centers in Marion, Carbondale, Carterville, Murphysboro and Herrin. The centers are staffed with workers brought in from central Illinois.
It's an enormous inconvenience to be without the comforts of home for an extended period of time. Ask anyone who is now living in temporary quarters because of the storm, or waiting for the restoration of electrical normalcy in a still-darkened home.
Our utility workers deserve special praise, however, because they chose to leave the comforts of home and help the people of Southern Illinois. They are missing family dinners, ball games with their kids and the just-plain-home feeling of a good night's sleep in a familiar bed.
Their families also deserve special recognition. Home is an incomplete and strange place when a member of the family is away. The spouses and children of our utility rescuers deserve credit, too.
Let's do our best to support their efforts as the work continues. It's not hard to do. Let's make sure we're traveling slowly and safely when driving near work zones. Let's be patient when our everyday routines are delayed by their vital efforts. And let's make sure to smile, give them a big thumb's up and demonstrate the famous Southern Illinois hospitality whenever possible.
On behalf of a region that is both storm-weary and sorrowful about our losses, we thank our utility workers for their noble efforts and wish them Godpseed in the days ahead.
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