Many residents lack power
LINCOLN from page 1
viduals scattered throughout Lincoln
continued to report a lack of service.
Technicians working from dawn
to dusk faced serious obstacles to
restoring phone service in some areas
Sunday and Monday, Kelahur said.
“They’re running into a lot of
trees, down power lines and a lot of
snow,” she said.
Aliant employees working to
restore service will follow electric
company repair teams after dangling
tree limbs have been removed, she said.
At the height of the record storm,
more than 30,000 of 105,000 Lincoln
homes were without power.
In Omaha, more than 100,000
homes went without power through
much of Sunday.
As of 3 p.m. Monday, about 2,500
businesses remained without electric
ity statewide, said Sharon Soltero of
the Nebraska Public Power District.
All 232 residents of Hardy, east of
Superior, were still in the dark as of
Monday afternoon, she said.
Acting Gov. Kim Robak said she
didn’t have power at her house, either.
Fallen tree limbs are the main cul
prit of the damage, Bundy said, as
LES has needed to replace only two
power poles.
But many power lines remain
caught in fallen trees, creating a haz
ard for children and others who might
wander under the debris.
As a result, Lincoln Public
Schools canceled classes again today.
Residential streets blocked by
trees and snow also contributed to the
closure, said schools Superintendent
Phil Schoo.
About a dozen schools also have
no heat or inadequate electric service,
Schoo said.
For Lincoln residents without
heat, the American Red Cross is oper
ating four area shelters at: Christ’s
Place, Old Cheney and 77th streets;
the Red Cross facility at 220 Oak St.;
Wesleyan Knight Field House, 54th
and Huntington streets; and Pershing
Auditorium in downtown Lincoln.
The Pershing shelter is staffed
with medical personnel for residents
requiring medical care.
Lincoln Police Chief Tom Casady
said anyone needing a ride to a shelter
can call a police officer at (402) 441
7395 or (402) 441-7398.
“We are concerned some resi
dents are staying at homes without
heat,” he said. “We are more than
willing to get those people to shelter.”
Casady said police have respond
ed to 304 incidents since the snow
storm, but a “heartening, small num
ber of traffic accidents.”
Thirty-five accidents occurred
Sunday and 21 were reported
Monday, Casady said. He said
Lincolnites staying at home and off
dangerous roads kept the number of
accidents low.
Casady said police also are con
cerned about scam artists who try to
take advantage of storm victims.
“It’s prime time,” he said.
Mayor Mike Johanns said one
telemarketing service already has
called residents, offering to test
whether their drinking water is safe.
Although a loss of electricity
caused water pumps to stop operating
in some parts of the city, water in the
city was never unsafe, Johanns said.
After flying in a helicopter to
view damage between Omaha and
Lincoln, Robak described the scene
as looking like “a giant foot that came
down and hit the community.”
Major Stanley Heng of the
Nebraska National Guard said it was
unknown whether the state could
qualify for federal emergency funds.
Heng said he hoped Federal
Emergency Management Agency
officials would visit the state in the
next couple of days to provide a pre
liminary damage assessment.
Lincoln officials estimate mil
lions of dollars in damage to the
Capital City.
UNL classes canceled
for record second day
CLOSING from page 1
respecting barricades on campus
and giving workers clearing tree
branches room to work.
As of midday Monday, most of
East Campus was clear of debris
and snow, but it will take all week to
remove a majority of fallen limbs,
Culbertson said.
City Campus employees con
tinued removing tree branches late
Monday to make campus safe for
students, Kirby Baird, City Campus
landscaping manager, said.
That’s good news for Peg Blake,
UNL director of admissions, who
must be host to 600 campus visitors
today.
At 10 a.m., 290 of Nebraska’s
brightest high school students - all
Omaha World-Herald Distinguished
Scholars — and their parents arrive
on campus for tours, various pro
grams and a dinner.
Blake said the university
remains excited to have the visitors,
but the timing is poor.
“It’s unfortunate they have to
see us after this kind of devasta
tion, she said. “I m sure they 11 be
understanding.
“We’ll take every precaution to
make sure they stay safe,” Blake
said, including providing tours via
campus shuttles instead of on foot
Baird said all Landscape
Services employees who were
stranded in Omaha Sunday were
hard at work Monday clearing cam
pus for visitors, employees and stu
dents.
All parking lots and walkways
not covered with tree branches have
been plowed, he said.
The long hours and hard work
have taken their toll on the land
scaping workers.
“We are just tired and depressed
right now,” Culbertson said.
Once the initial damage is
cleared, landscaping will be forced
to assess the long-term effects of
this storm.
“We will be dealing with the
damage from this storm for years
down the road,” Culbertson said.
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