DARREL EALUM: Georgia government responds to Southwest Georgia storm damage

The General Assembly’s 2017 Legislative Session is under way, and we have completed the first week of our 40-day session. Our first order of business was to elect a Speaker of the House and, on the third day, Gov. Deal delivered his State of the State Address to our Joint Session. Now, we are off and running in Atlanta; however, challenges left by the horrendous storm that barreled through our city continue to weigh heavily on my thoughts and time.

Speaker Ralston, a Republican, was re-elected as Speaker of the House by a near-unanimous House vote. Most notably, during his nominating process, Rep. Calvin Smyre of Columbus seconded Speaker Ralston’s nomination. Rep. Smyre is the Dean of the House, the longest-serving African-American Member, the longest-serving Democrat, and the longest-serving House Member of the entire General Assembly. After more than 40 years in the House, Dean Smyre’s credentials and his nomination of Mr. Speaker speaks volumes about the harmonious attitude that permeated the Capitol during our first week.

Although I was in Atlanta this past week, my heart and thoughts were back in Albany, and I returned for the weekend. The horrific storm directly affected my family, as well as thousands and thousands of our fellow citizens. About 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 3, our oldest daughter, Lydia, called. Linda answered and I could overhear the anxiety in Lydia’s voice. Two huge trees were on their home and debris was everywhere. Early that morning, I threw my chainsaw in my truck and started her way. In our area, we had been unaffected; however, as I drove toward her home in Lake Park, I quickly realized the severity of the storm damage.

Hundreds and hundreds of trees were blocking the roadways and were on top of house after house. After trying three different routes, I finally found a way to get close to her home. Soon realizing we didn’t have the wherewithal to remove the huge trees, we started clearing the streets nearby. Within an hour, David Green from the water department arrived with a backhoe. He and I immediately knew we could accomplish more together than separately. He was outstanding and, as a team, we removed a lot of trees that day. By that evening, I was exhausted.

On Wednesday morning the 4th, after communicating with Mayor Hubbard and Chairman Cohilas, our Delegation knew we must engage at the state level. After speaking with Sen. Sims and Rep. Greene, we moved to directly contact the Governor. We spoke with Hayley Howell, our contact in Gov. Deal’s office, and realized we didn’t have time to meet on Wednesday. Hayley arranged a meeting for the next morning, the 5th. After our meeting, we were confident that the Governor was fully aware of our circumstances. We followed with a conference call to Commissioner Homer Bryson of GEMA, and he put us in immediate contact with Gen. Moore, a retired general and Deputy Director of GEMA.

Gen. Moore shared with us that he had not received a State of Emergency Declaration request from Dougherty County, and, by law, the Governor needed a local government request before he could act. He assured us the state was ready to act and reinforced that he would expedite our request. We also contacted Col. McDonough, Commissioner of Public safety and head of the Georgia State Patrol, and Brig. Gen. Carden of the Georgia Army National Guard. Both men assured us their organizations were ready and prepared to assist when requested. We immediately passed this information to our local authorities. Later that day at 2:50 p.m. on Thursday the 5th, Gov. Deal granted our State of Emergency.

We continually coordinated with local leaders, and on Saturday afternoon the 7th, our Delegation chose to contact Gen. Moore at 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning the 8th to plead for additional help. After our urgent conversation with Gen. Moore, he told us he was coming to Albany and would arrive at 2 p.m. Upon his arrival, Mayor Hubbard, Chairman Cohilas and I rode with him through our damaged neighborhoods as he assessed the destruction. Firsthand, he witnessed the magnitude of devastation and quickly moved to bring additional help and assistance.

Gov. Deal’s decision to personally fly down on Tuesday the 10th after our 2017 Session had started and bring Sen. Sims, Rep. Greene and myself to survey our damaged city meant a lot. He had already extended our State of Emergency by eight days and, before leaving Atlanta, he had requested federal assistance through FEMA.

On Saturday the 15th, Jon Howard organized a huge working party on the east side. Hundreds of volunteers gathered at Pastor Sam Snead’s church, and we went to work. Laboring with our Dougherty High School football team and the young folks in the Georgia Civil air Patrol was especially gratifying. Having run my own timber crew a few years back, my chainsaw skills came up to speed quickly.

Working in neighborhoods across the county to clear streets and clean yards has been extremely rewarding. Our communities have pulled together in a miraculous way, and I am extremely pleased. We must build on our togetherness so we can be better prepared when our next struggle comes. I am proud of my hometown, and I am extremely proud to represent us in Atlanta. It’s my greatest honor.

Until next week, stay in touch, and do not hesitate to write or call if I can be of help.

Darrel Ealum, D-Albany, represents District 153 in the Georgia House of Representatives. Contact him at (404) 656-0116 or email [email protected].