Freezing rain began to fall in Northeast Arkansas on Monday, January 26, and by the following Tuesday afternoon, power had been lost throughout most of Paragould and Greene County. Places with lots of trees – places like Children’s Homes’ main campus (pictured above and below), our farm properties and Crowley’s Ridge Youth Camp – suffered the most extensive damage, as the falling trees and branches dragged aerial power and phone facilities to the ground.
Children’s Homes’ main campus was without power most of last week, although a couple of buildings – the gymnasium and the Balcom Learning Center – maintained power throughout the majority of the week. Children, houseparents, staff and even some former residents found refuge in these buildings until power was restored to most of the city.
As of today, however, two of our homes remain darkened. Those cottages and their respective houseparent families have set up camp in the gym. Crowley’s Ridge Youth Camp is also without power, and no timetable has been established for electric service to be restored. Fences at both the Smith Farm and the Olive Farm were damaged by fallen trees, and our maintenance crews have worked alongside volunteers to mend these areas as quickly as possible.
Given the extensive damage caused by this storm, there will be plenty of work for volunteer labor over the next several weeks and months. In addition to the youth groups that faithfully visit Children’s Homes each spring and summer, more groups are needed to work on rebuilding fences, cutting trees and limbs, clearing debris, and helping put things back in order.
If your congregation has willing workers – be they teens, families, singles, college students or retirees – who might give a day or two of work to help clean up the aftereffects of this ice storm, it would be greatly appreciated.
Groups that can bring chainsaws, pole saws, trucks and flatbed trailers (suitable for hauling limbs), as well as other tools needed for limb hauling and fence repair, etc., are especially needed. Please note that at this time, we are unable to provide housing for these groups. However, when that changes, we will broadcast that information.
To learn more about scheduling a group of volunteers, contact Arvil Hill (arvil@childrenshomes.org) or Terry Austin (terry@childrenshomes.org) or call 1-800-382-4114, ext. 133.

Tags: Arkansas, Children's Home, ice storm, Paragould, volunteers

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 7th, 2009 at 1:41 pm and is filed under CCFSA News, Member News, National News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.