Local man helps in Kentucky

Leitchfield, KY (WLFI) - A Tippecanoe County man helps at a Red Cross shelter in Kentucky as the state thaws out from a recent ice storm.

The ice storm created a winter wonderland that left many in Kentucky wondering when they could return home. Red Cross volunteer Dan Cartmell from Brookston went to Leitchfield south of Louisville to help at a shelter until both the ice and damage melt away.

"My usual response when people say thank you is I'm going to need it someday and I hope the help is there for me," said Cartmell over the phone.

Aid is arriving. Workers race to repair downed power lines, remove fallen trees, and clear away snow. Many have gone home, but shelters like the one Cartmell helps at remains open for those with no other place to go in the cold.

"The first day, which might have been Wednesday, they had 700 people. We had 100 people by the time we arrived. This evening, we're down to about 20 people," he said.

But still the damage is widespread.
 

"At this point we got 101 counties who have declared states of emergency, about 75 cities.  So that gives you a feel for just how widespread this crisis has been in Kentucky and continues to be," Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear.
 

200,000 remain without power. It could still be weeks before they can turn on the lights again. Cartmell said the good in this disaster is people mostly have homes to return to.

"Unlike the floods we had last year both in Martinsville and Northwest Indiana, for the most part, people's property was intact, they haven't lost homes or personal belongings," explained Cartmell.

Cartmell says despite the cold weather those staying at the shelter are not in frosty moods. They understand the volunteers and the sun will defrost winter's wrath.

Cartmell expects to come back to Tippecanoe County in the next few days.