Ice Storm

The late January ice storm caused many city employees to pull many extra hours. And while hourly employees can get paid overtime, many of the city's salaried employees have exceeded the 100 hour compensation time limit. "Right now, the policy says the comp time cannot exceed 100 hours," Commissioner Johnny Collier said. "The problem is that the week before last, some of our people were out 24 hours a day, and their comp time is going to go out the roof. " Human Resources director Rita Randall said the 100 hour cap was put into place in 1997.

The number of customers of the three electric utilities that serve this area who are still without power has dropped below 8,000. More than 40,000 area customers of Kentucky Utilities, Inter-County Energy and Bluegrass Energy initially lost power after the ice storm Jan. 27. Those still without power include: Boyle County: KU, 900; Inter-County, 1,200. Casey County: KU, 0; Inter-County, 365. Garrard County: KU, 0; Inter-County, 2,500. Lincoln County: KU, 150; Inter-County, 1,400.

Dear Editor, This letter is about the City of Danville getting grant money for generators, etc. Hometown Radio has a generator out back that needs to be hooked up. That would be a good place to start to spend some of the grant money since they did such a good job communicating to the public during the Jan. 27 ice storm. They sacrificed their own income to help the public. Mary Ann and Lonnie BarnettJunction City

Here are the latest updates for Danville and Boyle County regarding the recovery from the ice storm: The boil water advisory remains in effect until further notice. This includes ice and fountain drinks. All shelters have been shut down due to lack of need. Drinking water is available at Mitchellsburg Church of God and Perryville Baptist Church. The entrance to the debris drop off point between the Danville bypass and Gose Pike is now located on the bypass.

Dear Editor, On behalf of the Junction City Council and myself, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers, members of the City Council, and especially the Junction City Fire Department who assisted Junction City with the debris removal from the recent ice storm. Junction City did not participate in the state contracted bids due to the fact that we would lose funding. However, we are proud to say that the city has exceptional citizens and volunteers who were more than willing to assist their fellow man. Jim Douglas Junction City mayor

A fire destroyed a house in southern Garrard County, Garrard Central Dispatch confirmed. News reports from WKYT and WLEX said a house along White Lick Road, between Cartersville and Paint Lick, caught fire just before noon on Sunday. No one was hurt. The family living in the house was at a neighbor's home when they heard an explosion, according to WKYT. The house had been damaged in the January ice storm and was undergoing renovations, according to the news reports. Buckeye Fire Department Safety Officer Michael Mullins confirmed the Buckeye, Cartersville Paint Lick, Berea and Garrard County District One fire departments all responded to the fire.

Dear Editor, I am not one for writing letters to the editor, but in this case I have to make an exception. There are no words to express our gratitude to all the utility workers who have worked tirelessly to restore power to the area following the recent ice storm. I could write volumes about their efforts, but just let me say, "Thank you, thank you" to each and every one involved with restoring power and water to local residents. May God bless each one of you. Bobby and Brenda Carpenter Burgin

This year's ice storm provided an abundance of examples for a group of emergency responders and public health workers gathered for a FEMA National Incident Management Systems training course Friday morning in the InterCounty Energy community room. Danville Assistant Fire Chief Woody Ball, who is certified by FEMA, taught the Incident Command System (ICS) 300 course to around 20 people that included fire and emergency personnel from Lincoln and Garrard counties, as well as public health officials and certified volunteers.

Ken Davis, Winchester-Clark County Parks and Recreation Department acting director, continues the chore of sawing up a large tree that came crashing down next to the log cabin at College Park and smashed the the toilet. The tree was one of many in the park that fell during the ice storm of the last week of January. Davis was working to clear trees and limbs that were blocking the walking trail. Other parks that sustained heavy tree damage were Lykins Park, Wiseman Park and Harmon Park.

T & T Tree Service owner Donnie Campbell sawed up a limb from a 100-foot-tall pin oak tree in the yard of Paul Wills at 228 W. Hickman St. Friday as Ernie Campbell, right, held it in place. Wills said he decided to remove the tree, which was more than 15 feet in diameter, after the ice storm earlier this year. Left, T& T Tree Service employee Tony Fields worked about 60 feet above the ground as he prepared to remove another limb from the huge pin oak tree.