In Crown Heights, storm hits hard
WEATHER BRIEFS
Weather briefs: In Crown Heights, storm hits hard

By Devona Walker

Published: December 14, 2007

Patience was wearing thin for many residents in Crown Heights on Thursday.

The quaint urban enclave, once home to rows upon rows of historic homes and magnificent trees, was instead full of tree-trimmers, fallen branches, dark homes and angry residents.

Phillip Matthews, 67, returned home a few days ago to a dark home.

All four trees in his front yard were critically damaged.

But fortunately, a friend who was house-sitting had the forethought to move his 90-year-old mother to a local hotel.

"This is something that happens,” he said of the ice storm. "Why can't they figure it out and bury their lines.”

"We all have gas heat, right? Why can't there be some override, so that when this happens, we can have heat.

Instead, they're saying it may take up to two weeks. In the cold?

And they are already talking about a rate increase, I don't think so,” he added.

In neighboring Yukon and Edmond, where electrical lines were buried, power has apparently been nearly completely restored or never went out in the first place, he said.

He was in Crown Heights checking on a rental property about four houses down the street from Matthews.

"It's mostly been the trees and the inconvenience,” Vickers said.

"What I'm more concerned about is when is the city going to get around to cleaning all this up. It's citywide. It's going to be bad, expensive.”

Subsequently, her house has been an open and revolving door for friends who have been less fortunate.

"It's been a real mess. We had some friends who had power, it was restored, then they lost it again. So they were there, then gone, and then back again,” Coffey said.

"Then we have other friends who are staying with us tonight,” she said.

"I was running a six-day per week operation. On any given day, I would have numerous trucks out,” said Michael Broderick, who owns Mom's Gourmet Meats, a steak distribution company. "Then, all of a sudden, I had no trucks out.”

From that perspective, this has been a blessing,” Broderick said of a steady stream of work, removing fallen trees from the road.

"This is a time for Oklahoma and America to come together, but without greed. I understand the subtlety of a dollar,” he added.

His partner Larry Skinner owns a small home-remodeling business. He too was put out of work by the storm.

Your thoughts!