Two weeks without power tests Oklahoma family

01/08/2001 Daily Oklahoman By Kelly Kurt Associated Press Writer

Debra Harris and her three children would like to go to their home in southeast Oklahoma, switch on the lights, turn on the TV and open the refrigerator to find something other than spoiled food.

But they and more than 3,100 other Oklahoma residences and businesses, mainly in the southeast corner of the state, are still without power two weeks after a Christmas Day ice storm.

So Harris and the kids, who live in the small town of Tom, have gone to her mother’s house nearby. It also lacks power, but has heat, thanks to a butane system that doesn’t require electricity.

They have had their fill of bologna sandwiches and candlelight. The children are tired.

“They’re ready to go home and get in their beds,” Harris said. “I know I am.”

These are the toughest cases after a storm that cut service to 170,000 Oklahomans. They are the most damaged, the most remote, the most disconnected from the main lines that were restored first.

While their neighbors’ homes already may sparkle with power, these southeast Oklahomans were still reading Monday by kerosene lantern, still cooking on camping stoves, still turning to neighbors and family for warmth.

Fifteen days without electricity has tested both patience and old-fashioned neighborliness.

“Everybody is sharing generators,” said Michael Carrell, police chief in the tiny McCurtain County town of Haworth. “People that do have electricity are letting people come over and use their bathroom and laundry facilities.”

Some have even managed to find the bright side of nights in the dark.

“Our grandchildren found out that there is more to entertainment than TV and Nintendo. We played dominoes and Yahtzee by the kerosene lamp,” wrote one family to Wilburton-based Kiamichi Electric Cooperative after their power was restored.

“The quiet has been rather nice ...” wrote another couple who remained without power but said they would pray for the safety of the crews working to get it turned back on.

Those were the letters Kiamichi spokeswoman Cathey Heddlesten said she wished she could get to the workers still trying to restore power to about 1,200 customers Monday afternoon.

Of course, there have been plenty of complaints, too. The company has been fielding about 8,000 calls per day, she said.

“People are frustrated and rightfully so,” she said. “What they’ve got to understand is that we’re basically rebuilding service from the ground up.”

State emergency officials warned that the daily gains in power restoration might slow because those still without power were in remote or particularly hard-hit areas.

For a brief period Monday, Kates Grocery in Tom was without power again.

Owner Mark Kates said the store made it through nine days without electricity by using generators and ice to keep food cool. Residents continued to equip themselves for survival, buying lamp oil, batteries and bread.

“We’re a rural area anyway, and people down here can remember when there wasn’t electricity,” he said.

Harris and her children went to her mother’s nearby home after ice sent an electric pole crashing into her yard on Christmas Day. Her mother’s home also lacks power but is heated by butane.

Harris’ holiday stock spoiled in the refrigerator, and so they’ve been living off sandwiches and canned goods. The cramped house leaves some of the kids sleeping on the floor.

“We’re making it, though,” she said.

Power companies say they’re working as hard and fast as they can. But Heddleston said even when the last home’s lights come on, the job won’t be done.

Cleanup work remains, and the greater chance of power outages in the next storm loom.

“The trees were weakened and damaged really badly with the ice,” she said. “There’s going to be continued problems with those.”

-- robert waldrop (rmwj@soonernet.com), January 09, 2001