Storm Stories: Coping with outages, shortages

Ridewell Corp.

Ridewell, which manufactures air-ride suspensions, was completely without power last week. Once power is up and running, Vice President John Millsap said it will take at least another full day of work just to get the company’s machines back on line.

“Our mainframe computer, which has all of our orders in it, will have to be brought back up,” Millsap said from his home; the company’s phone system also remains unusable. “My foreman said the lasers wouldn’t be that bad, but the robots will take a long time to get back on line and going again. The paint tank will be full of dried paint, so that will have to be either disposed of or thinned and used again, though I doubt that will be possible.”

Many of Ridewell’s 150 employees also are without power, though one employee in particular was hit hard – her house burned down over the weekend. Millsap said he’s unsure whether ice was the culprit. But the fire puts his situation in perspective.

“So what have I got to complain about?” he said. “I can’t take a shower, but big deal.”

Drury University

The tree-lined walkways and outdoor studying areas at Drury University became hazardous zones after the storm, though school officials began the repair process nearly immediately.

“We just have essential employees here until we get any dangerous limbs out of the way, and we can have routes where people can walk and be safe,” said Drury President John Sellars, who added that spring classes will begin Jan. 22, instead of the scheduled Jan. 17 start.

Electricity was lost in most of the campus’ residential housing areas, but it stayed on in the majority of other buildings.

Ollis & Co.

“This is our moment to get to work,” said Ollis & Co. President and CEO Richard Ollis, whose company began helping residential customers file claims even before the precipitation had ended.

“We anticipate that our work is just beginning, and we’re here,” he said. “When you buy an insurance policy, that’s why you buy it.”

The company’s service went beyond filing claims; agents also helped customers find shelter and supplies as needed.

“First, we made contact with all of our employees to make sure they were OK and to let them know that we would either be operating out of the office if we got power back or out of a hotel room that we had reserved if we didn’t get power,” Ollis added.

The claims process is expected to take several weeks.

Great Southern Bank

The Springfield-based bank saw little disruption in its power supply – one location in Buffalo was still without power Jan. 17, and two or three others operated briefly on generators, according to spokeswoman Kelly Polonus.

With most branches operating close to normal, Polonus said the bank went to work helping others:

Branches were open Jan. 15 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day, normally a bank holiday. Great Southern offered to cash checks up to $50 from other banks for people with valid identification. And the bank’s Glenstone Avenue operations center doubled as a day care facility and shelter for employees and their families, and those without power also received help in getting everything from hot meals to kerosene.

“The vast majority of our employees have been here working, and we really appreciate everything that they’ve done,” Polonus said. “We know it’s hard when you have a crisis at home to come in and focus on work, and they’ve done it.”

Bair’s Grocery

The gas station and convenience store at Campbell Avenue and Plainview Road stood out for one reason: It sells kerosene. Owner Tom Hancock said the store was swamped most of the weekend with people trying to fill their lamps and heaters. At its peak, Hancock said 60–70 people were in the line, which stretched around the building.

“We’ve been extremely busy with that, and then we’ve got suppliers who had trouble getting product and getting it to us,” Hancock said. “It’s been chaotic.”

He added that the store’s kerosene tank holds 1,000 gallons, but he won’t know how much was sold until the delivery tickets are collected and calculated.

Ozarks Technical Community College

Ozarks Technical Community College turned into a makeshift motel for its employees and their families.

OTC President Hal Higdon invited school staff and family members to stay in their offices or any other campus room that they found comfortable until power is restored in their homes.

“We had an instructor in our automotive area, he and his two little girls were here, and he brought them in for the day (while) his wife went to work,” Higdon said. “When I told him he could stay in his office, he was just thrilled.”