As most of you are probably aware, Cumberland County was declared a disaster area in the wake of our recent severe ice storm, resulting in the call out of the National Guard. Having lived here since just before the last severe ice storm in the winter of ’98, I can attest to the severity of their affect on our lives during both storms. Many folks like myself, who lived through the last serious ice storm, were much better prepared for this one. During the ’98 storm, we became much closer to our neighbors. In that spirit, I walked around the neighborhood the morning after this storm initially hit to ensure that everyone survived the first night and let them know I had emergency communications capability. Fortunately, our Android TracFones never lost 3G data service and, except for the first day, had call service as well.Unlike the ’98 storm aftermath, most of the houses in our middle to upper middle class neighborhood were running generators. We live about ten miles west of downtown Crossville with most houses on 5-10 acre plots. I suppose we consider ourselves more country than city folks. We’ve learned from experience to rely upon ourselves and neighbors to weather emergencies. On the other hand, the heroic efforts of Volunteer Electric and Frontier Telephone employees cannot be over stated. Both Volunteer Electric and Frontier employees were out in large numbers working around the clock. Both corporations brought in substantial numbers of emergency crews from outside the county. Land line telephone service was restored to our neighborhood within about a day and a half. Electrical power was restored within three and one-half days. I’ve lived all over the country and believe our Electric and Telephone workers to be the best I’ve encountered when it comes to hard work and personal sacrifice. Special credit is also due vendors like Tractor Supply, which kept households supplied with propane fuel throughout the crisis.As a retired supervisory federal agent with over a decade of experience as an Air Force Disaster Preparedness Officer, I’ve learned that its best not to put much faith in at least some state and local governments when it comes to disaster response. Conversely, it should be noted that the US active and reserve (national guard) military have always proven themselves to be the most dependable and effective responders, whether the disaster was widespread or localized. Still, the everyday efforts of some lower level government folks is nevertheless worthy of favorable comment, particularly in the County Clerks office. While they are not emergency responders, their routine efficiency and polite demeanor reflects great credit on themselves and the county. Similarly, city police and deputies, despite often not being as well trained and paid as their counterparts elsewhere, have impressed me as being in large part polite and service oriented despite no doubt having to deal with far more illicit drug and alcohol offenders than other rural area officials. Special mention is also due our public and private emergency medical responders, who have no doubt saved many lives through their quick and effective air and vehicular response efforts. As a retired emergency responder, I believe my first duty is to my family, followed by nearby friends and neighbors. I’ve developed a fair number of friends who have lived here all their lives and they generally agree with this emergency preparedness posture. Tennessee is still a fairly nice place to live, not to mention having an unusually low cost of living, and the folks here remain some of the nicest I’ve met.