They say Progress Energy is not moving in a timely fashion, and they accuse state officials of not delivering provisions fast enough.
By JORGE SANCHEZ and JUSTIN GEORGE
Published September 10, 2004
With Frances finally gone, Ivan possibly on the way and thousands of residents still suffering, Citrus government leaders weren't in the mood for delays and explanations. On Thursday, they made that sentiment quite clear.
Sheriff Jeff Dawsy, county officials and others lashed out against what they called the sluggish pace of relief efforts.
They directed their ire at two targets: state emergency officials, who they said weren't moving quickly enough to get food, ice and water to people in need; and Progress Energy, which they said wasn't doing enough to restore electricity to its Citrus customers or honor the county's service requests.
The frustrations, which many Citrus residents shared, boiled over on a day when even people who had power, water and ice were uneasy. Blame Hurricane Ivan for that.
Fear of the storm, which registered as a Category 4 hurricane Thursday afternoon as it raced toward Jamaica, prompted Citrus school officials to do an about-face and cancel school for today. (Seven Rivers Christian and Pope John Paul II, however, are open.)
The county decided to keep its citizen information lines open, and the Crystal River City Council is meeting at 9 a.m. today to talk about Ivan and Frances.
Forecasters said the storm could be bearing down on Florida early next week.
Also Thursday, feared flooding along the Withlacoochee River didn't materialize. Officials say the flood might come Saturday, but they say it probably won't be severe.
County officials also released more preliminary damage assessments.
In unincorporated Citrus, 199 homes reported minor damage, 74 homes had major damage and five were destroyed. Also, 99 businesses had minor damage, 33 had major damage and seven were destroyed.
The latter figure includes K.C. Crump Restaurant, the historic restaurant that burned to the ground early Thursday morning.
Inverness had eight homes with minor damage, none with major damage and one destroyed. Crystal River had 18 residences with damage of varying degrees and 16 damaged businesses.
But the stories of the day concerned Progress Energy and the state.
With nearly 18,497 Progress customers in Citrus still without power Thursday, the company's chief operating officer, Bill Habermeyer, tried to ease concerns.
"I certainly understand the extreme amount of anxiety felt by residents of Citrus County," he said at a noon news conference at the Emergency Operations Center in Lecanto. But he said his company was working nonstop to restore power, which he said was the hardest hit by Frances in the company's vast service area.
County officials, however, said the power company is not clearing downed power lines from trees blocking roads so county crews can clear them, as requested. Top priorities for power restoration, according to the county, such as sewer lift stations and stoplights, also are not being handled in a timely fashion.
As for state supplies, Dawsy said Citrus has been ignored. But officials in Tallahassee contend their logistical staging areas are working effectively.
When disasters strike, the Federal Emergency Management Agency supplies states with supplies and money. States are then supposed to distribute the supplies to their local governments from logistical staging areas.
But Dawsy said the county has received only one truckload of supplies, besides MREs (meals ready to eat), which are difficult to prepare and eat. There isn't nearly enough water and ice to meet the county's needs.
Citrus has ordered at least three truckloads of water and ice. When they weren't en route Wednesday, Dawsy said he began investigating and learned that the Ocala logistical staging area responsible for Citrus had only opened Wednesday afternoon - days after it should have.
It was empty as well, Dawsy said.
He said he learned 250 truckloads of supplies were sitting in a warehouse in Jacksonville that could not be deployed because the state was lacking enough trucks and drivers. So Dawsy and County Commission Chairman Josh Wooten called state Sen. Nancy Argenziano, R-Dunnellon, to begin pressuring the state for help.
After offering sheriff's escorts for the supplies and locating refrigerated trucks, Dawsy said he learned that the Jacksonville warehouse still lacked enough ice from the state Forestry Division.
"The system is very ineffective right now," Dawsy said. "This agency (the Sheriff's Office) is not a soup kitchen, but I have a canteen and we fed 17,000 meals."
Businesses have come to the county's aid, doing a job officials said the state should be doing. Wooten, Argenziano and Dawsy recruited Publix, Wal-Mart, Anheuser-Busch, Bank of America and other companies to deliver water, food and ice.
By Thursday, thanks to the private efforts, more than 10,000 gallons of water had been distributed and several semitrailer trucks full of ice also had been unloaded in Citrus.
Dawsy said his staff has been overstretched. Then the state diverted emergency shower resources for people elsewhere, pouring salt on the wounds.
"Am I p----d? D--- right I am p----d," he said. "Don't tell me something's working when it's not."
State officials disagreed Thursday, saying they haven't heard any complaints from Citrus, and supplies are moving smoothly.
"I do not doubt they have valid concerns," said Jon Myatt, state emergency response team spokesman. "But there are valid concerns across the state."
He disputed Dawsy's contention that the state was not prepared for Frances.
"I'm not aware of that, and I can't imagine we were not prepared," Myatt said. "We ask for patience, not just from the citizens, but from our county officials. . . . We're in this together."
The Florida National Guard is scheduled to arrive today to help pass out food and water at the distribution sites, providing relief to sheriff's deputies and volunteers who have been unloading pallets of water and MREs.
Staff writer Barbara Behrendt contributed to this report. Jorge Sanchez can be reached at 352 860-7313 or e-mail sanchez@sptimes.com
