JESSICA TURNER – Hoof Prints Staff

The terrible ice storm on January 27 has affected many students and families in the Buffalo Island Central district.  The storm started on Monday night and ended Wednesday.  All throughout the night ice began to stick to everything.  After a period of time the trees and the power lines began to droop.  On Wednesday the power lines were down to the ground and the trees were falling.

Most students say when they lay in their beds they would awake to the sound of the crashing of trees.  The power went out on Tuesday night and for some people it has still not been restored.

Many students homes and property suffered damage as a result of the storm.  D.J. Reed said, “A tree had fallen through my roof into my room.”  Amy Renteria’s garage was damaged by a falling tree, and Caleb Miller’s grandmother had a huge tree down in her yard. “My very large pine tree fell over onto my fence which left my dogs to roam free,” said Kayla Stacy.   

Devin Sullivan was laying down when he heard a tree in his backyard come crashing down. “The tree is very old and tall, so imaging when it fell, it fell hard,” he said.  “I jumped when it fell.”  Sullivan’s family had to have repairs on the backside of his house because the tree put a hole through the roof. 

In addition to damage to homes, many vehicles that did not have shelter were smashed by limbs of the trees which left them in bad condition.

This storm did not only have physical damage, but also emotional.  Some students were days without power which means no hot water, no heat, and no television.  Several students expressed fears of the storm’s aftermath. Joslyn Key said, “I am afraid at night because I am scared of the dark.” 

Although the property damage is slowly being repaired, the students will likely remember the emotional toll the ice storm of 2009 had on them and their families for many years to come.