First Responders and Community Members Team up During Blizzard

The recent blizzard brought low visibility, strong winds, snow and icy roads, leaving many stranded and looking for help in Franklin County and throughout the region.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, the Hampton Police Department and the Franklin County Emergency Management team, along with many other first responders and community members, came to the rescue once again.

During the blizzard, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office responded to more than 100 calls for weather-related incidents, including many calls for stranded motorists. The Hampton Police Department had a handful of motorist assist calls, along with one power line issue they assisted with.

The Latimer Community Center and Alexander church also opened their doors for those in need of a place to stay. More than 60 people sheltered in place in Latimer and around 30 people stayed at the Alexander church, according to the sheriff’s office.

Franklin County Sheriff Aaron Dodd told the Chronicle that the majority of people who were stuck were passing through and not from the area.

"Everyone from the area listened to the warnings so we thank them for that," he said.

Dodd mentioned that many travelers decided to pass through the Alexander area as an alternate route when I-35 was shut down, instead of finding shelter and waiting out the storm as advised. This is where things went wrong, he said.

"Everyone tried to come up with their own way and this is where the real problem started," he said. "We had people scattered all over the gravel roads because there was no visibility."

Dodd thanked the Alexander Fire Department for helping them shuttle stranded motorists to the Alexander church, as well as all of the community members who volunteered their time and efforts, bringing food and more. He also thanked Regina Blau for keeping Latimer Grocery open for those in need of supplies.

"It was just amazing to see how the community reached out to help," he said.

Now, Dodd and his team are looking at ways to improve situations like these in the future, including different and better signage. But at the end of the day, he asks that travelers listen to weather warnings when passing through.

Franklin County Emergency Management Director Eric Arenholz also thanked emergency responders for all of their hard work during the blizzard and shared the following advice for future storms.

“One thing I would strongly encourage is everyone to be weather aware when traveling. First and foremost if you do not have to travel, stay home or where ever you are at. With county deputies, state troopers, and first responders out there trying to get from call to call, it just adds problems and hazards to everyone out there. I can’t stress the safety of all our first responders enough!” he said. “If you must travel, look ahead at weather and road conditions when traveling. With today’s technology we have access to a variety of news sources to check on weather and road conditions. With that being said just make sure that it is a credible source like national weather service, Iowa511, and local broadcasting stations in that area.”