Dear Editor:

In the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan, Demopolis appeared to have survived; unfortunately, some people did suffer damages to their homes and vehicles, but the majority of the damage appeared to be trees blown down and loss of utilities. Although it was bad, it could have been so much worse, and we were truly blessed.

The rain and wind had just passed when the crews from Alabama Power Co., Black Warrior Electric, BellSouth, CATV and the City of Demopolis were out in full force. While most of us had time to take care of our property and clean up our yards, those men all gave tirelessly to restore the services to their respective customers. Although some isolated areas experienced delays, overall the utility serves were restored in a remarkably short period of time. That did not occur without a lot of hard work and dedication.

In addition, the crews working for the City of Demopolis gave us uninterrupted water service, and they have cleaned up and moved a tremendous amount of debris in a very short period of time. All in all, after going through the storm, seeing all the damage, and then seeing how hard the personnel with the utility companies and the City employees tackled the cleanup, all of them truly earned our patience, consideration and deep appreciation.

Please relay to all of these dedicated people that they are appreciated and respected for all they do on our behalf.

Woodford W. Dinning Jr.

Demopolis