Local officials said damage from storms and rainy weather have occupied many of the county crews for several weeks.
Don McKinnon, director of Jones County Emergency Management Agency, said strong line winds reaching 60-70 miles per hour came through Jones County Sunday night and resulted in a lot of structure and tree damage, along with power outages.
The most damage was reported in the Myrick Community near Tucker’s Crossing.
District Three Supervisor Barry Saul said he received the first reports of damage from the storm about 10 p.m. Sunday.
From big trees down across roads to a mobile home being destroyed to a house where a tree fell on it, officials said weather-related damage has been great.
“All of Jones County was hit,” District Two Supervisor Danny Roy Spradley. “It just happened that District Three was hit the hardest this time.”
Spradley said since the latter part of March his crews have been working in various areas of District Two to clean up the aftermath of several storms.
“We’ve been doing clean up in District Two for the past seven weeks,” Spradley said. “It started in the Hatten and Hebron communities and then it was in Soso and then the Pleasant Home Community.
“It’s been rough,” he said. “We haven’t been able to do much else except deal with the flood damage and road cleanup from the storms.”
McKinnon confirmed that the local weather “has been a little more active than in recent years.”
“Weather is something you can’t change,” McKinnon said. “You just have to brace yourself, hold on and clean up after it’s gone.”
Officials said they are working together to serve the people of Jones County.
“I’m just out here with him (Saul) today. I’ll help wherever needed,” Spradley said as he worked with Saul on Township Road on Monday. “We, the five members of the Board of Supervisors, just work together. We just help each other where ever we are needed.”
Saul also praised the work of the local volunteer firefighters and their response to storm-affected areas.
The supervisors asked residents to be patient as they work to clean up after the storms.
“Now, we just have to deal with the clean up,” Saul said Monday. “We have about eight miles of roadway to clean up from (Sunday’s) storm.”
Saul said his crews will be out in the area most of the week removing debris and clearing downed trees from public property.
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Related Photos
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Photo/Eloria Newell James
Storm clean up has kept county crews busy
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