Weeks after ice storm in northeast Mississippi, 25,000 still without power

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Nearly 2 weeks aft a catastrophic crystal tempest rocked northeast Mississippi, inactive 25,000 customers are without powerfulness arsenic of Thursday, and the concern is getting much dire by the time for radical who are taking connected overwhelming fiscal burdens to enactment lukewarm and clasp immoderate normalcy.

The Golden household of Taylor, Mississippi, a municipality conscionable 20 minutes southbound of Oxford, said they person been dipping into savings to wage for the precocious outgo of propane for their tiny abstraction heater and substance for their $400 generator they bought 5 days ago. The generator tin lone tally a fewer things astatine a time, truthful they usage it for an electrical abstraction heater and occasionally the TV astatine nighttime for amusement for their 7-year-old son, Tylin.

They enactment a peculiar tube fitting portion astir the model sills and doorway framework to support acold aerial out, and they support h2o boiling perpetually connected their state stove, not lone to person lukewarm h2o to bathe with, but besides to assistance support their room warm.

The household of 3 sleeps successful their surviving country astatine nighttime — the warmest country successful the house.

"We wasn't expecting it to beryllium this bad," Tambra Golden said with tears successful her eyes successful an interrogation with CBS News. "We benignant of figured that we was gonna beryllium without lights for a fewer days, and we thought the Northeast (Northeast Mississippi Electric Power Association) and the powerfulness company, they was going to beryllium capable to spell done and hole things and get america backmost to wherever up and running, but I spot that it is, it's a lot, it's a batch worse than what we thought it was gonna be."

Tambra Golden said she and her hubby person been moving arsenic nutrient transportation drivers to drum up immoderate other currency to wage for much propane. The 2 said they are besides grateful to person received immoderate donations from a section church.

"All we tin bash present is commune that erstwhile we bash get lights and capable to move, that we tin physique our savings backmost up and get backmost to wherever we were earlier this happened," she said.

Northeast Mississippi Electric Power Association spokesperson Sarah Brooke Bishop told CBS News earlier this week that crews from Mississippi and respective neighboring states are moving tirelessly until each powerfulness is restored, but the massive, wide harm of fallen trees and powerfulness lines has created superior obstacles.

An hr northbound of Oxford, successful Ripley, Miss., immoderate families archer CBS News their section powerfulness institution has informed them it volition beryllium astatine slightest different week earlier each powerfulness is restored.

Part of the situation is that adjacent though overmuch of the mainline infrastructure has been restored, crews present person to spell from location to location to get radical backmost online.

According to Jill Knox, a spokesperson with the Oxford nationalist schoolhouse district, 30% of their unit were inactive without powerfulness arsenic of Feb 4.

"It's inactive beauteous dire," Knox said.

At a donation lawsuit astatine Oxford Middle School connected Wednesday, volunteers passed retired meals, snacks and coats to families successful need. Volunteer unit members are besides helping present items to families.

Knox says they person been feeding up to 600 radical a time with escaped blistery meals. She says she's alert of respective different nutrient drives successful municipality that person besides been helping hundreds of radical a day.

"I cannot accidental capable large things astir everyone successful this community," Knox said.

Some radical successful Oxford, Miss., are conscionable grateful to beryllium alive.

Brindin Chandler, 20, of Oxford, said past week, during the crystal storm, alternatively of sleeping in, helium was volunteering his clip to assistance crews chainsaw and region fallen trees.

When helium came location astir 10 a.m., arsenic helium was walking up to his mobile home, helium watched a ample histrion autumn close done his location and onto his bed. If helium had not been retired helping others, and alternatively astatine location sleeping, the histrion would person landed connected apical of him.

"Because we were doing that is the lone crushed that I wasn't successful there," Chandler said.

He chalks it up to "luck."

"I ne'er thought it would hap to me," Chandler said. "Glad to beryllium alive."

As soon arsenic helium saw it fall, helium said, "I instantly ran close implicit present to look for my cats, but I couldn't find them."

One of his 2 cats wrong the location astatine the clip died, but the different survived. It took 3 days for them to benignant done the rubble earlier they recovered the cat's body. Chandler inactive has a batch of cleaning up near to go.

It was his starter home. He had lived successful the mobile location for astir 2 years. Now he's surviving with his dada until helium tin find different place. He besides works for his father, and the 2 of them adjacent play successful a metallic stone set together.

Since the tempest hit, helium has been moving astir the Oxford assemblage to assistance others with each of their histrion harm and debris. He said it's felt bully to beryllium a portion of "one community."

Asked astir however he's kept a affirmative attitude, helping different wide trees disconnected their houses portion helium inactive has a histrion connected his own, helium said, "well, they accidental beingness is what you marque it, if you enactment negative, everything successful beforehand of you volition astir apt beryllium negative, if you enactment positive, everything volition astatine slightest look that way."

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