BROWN COUNTY —Brown County Sheriff John Merchant expressed his thanks to everyone who stepped up to help out during the recent blizzard.
In an email the sheriff wrote, "Linemen had several power outages in which they responded to in the midst of the blizzard to get power to those without.
Emergency service personnel were assisting throughout the storm without complaint. City, county, township and state workers have been doing their best to open roads to the best of their ability, but a storm of this magnitude hasn't been seen around here for more than 40 years."
"The stormed caused roadways to be shut down completely. All law enforcement entities responded where they could to reach motorists and respond to calls."
"Dispatch and jail staff worked through shifts to make sure we were adequately staffed throughout the storm. Deputies worked around the clock to get to as many stranded motorists as they could reach and were able to deliver items to those who were not able to get out."
"Road conditions prohibited some responses but in those cases, farmers pitched in with their equipment to get to stranded individuals as well as good samaritans."
"Neighbors have been helping neighbors by opening their sidewalks and driveways so people can get on with their daily routine. It will take awhile to get back to normal, but everyone is working together to make that happen as soon as possible."
"Tuesday morning, a semi was jackknifed on U.S. 36 Highway at the Oregon intersection which closed down the highway for several hours, Hiawatha Implement brought out a tractor and pulled the semi from the roadway which allowed the highway to reopen."
"I appreciate all of the communication from residents about concerns you had and forwarding information to me so I could share. I would like to thank those who dropped off food for the emergency workers."
"We were very blessed as I have not had any reports of serious injuries or fatalities due to the storm. We are very fortunate to live in a county where people look out after each other in times like this."