Commissioners declare state of emergency

Cell phones not always reliable during a storm

Having a cell can give the feeling of having a lot of freedom; freedom to make calls from almost anywhere, and freedom from the old traditional telephone company. But some of that freedom is imaginary. It can come as something of a shock when, during times of severe weather and utility outages, there are no bars on the cell phone.

George Breithaupt

Lack of electricity can make credit card buys tricky

When power and phone lines go down, it is sometimes tricky for consumers to find stores that are open for business.

Pamela Schehl

City has no fuel shortage

The orange traffic cones in front of the pumps at the Speedway gas station on South Main Street on Monday were not there because of a shortage of gasoline. Rather, “The power goes off and on and when people do pump gas it overloads the pumps,” according to the manager, who declined to be identified.

Virgil Shipley

Without power, hungry families flock to fast food and long lines

With electric power out in many homes around Mount Vernon, people and families apparently are eating out. Heavy traffic at McDonald’s and Wendy’s stores kept them very busy Monday.

Virgil Shipley

Use caution when consuming thawed foods

When the power goes out, refrigerators and freezers go out too and the food inside them warms quickly. It pays to use caution and common sense before consuming food that has thawed in the freezer or warmed to above 40 degrees in the refrigerator.

Kimberly Orsborn