People, Places & Events

Local residents swelter
without power for two days
Oncor, TVEC work hard to restore power
By Barbara Gartman
Monitor Staff writer
CEDAR CREEK LAKE–Several residents in the Kemp area were still waiting for electrical power to be restored Friday, after outages began on Wednesday, mostly due to downed trees and blown transformers as a result of storms that rolled through the area.
Frustrated residents had to throw spoiled food away, at a time when pocketbooks are tight. “It was just very irritating,” one Hilltop resident said.
While crews worked to restore power, summer temperatures began to soar, and those without electricity were also without air-conditioning or fans. “It was so hot. It made me think about the pioneers and people who lived in Texas before air-conditioning,” the resident said.
Crews from Oncor and Trinity Valley Electric Co-op worked into the weekend getting power to several Cedar Creek Lake area communities hit hard by a series of storms last Wednesday and Thursday.
“It was just one wave of storms after another,” TVEC general manager/CEO Jerry Boze said Monday.
Starting Wednesday and continuing through late Thursday, June 10-11, a series of storms brought waves of lightning, high winds, some small hail and high waters. Trees were blown over and power lines downed, but not as much around the lake as in some areas.
“At the height of the storms, only about 3,000 customers suffered outages,” Oncor area manager Brenda Walker, located in Palestine, said Monday.
Walker’s service area covers the communities around Cedar Creek Lake, Athens, Palestine and Fairfield.
However, considering the amount of damage recorded in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, “We were very lucky,” she said.
“The 3,000 lake area customers all had their power back on by Saturday afternoon,” Walker added.
“At the height of the storms, we had about 6,500 customers out,” Boze reported. “We had the last ones wrapped up in the early hours of Friday.”
Boze added the lightning produced by each storm wave was the worst he had seen in 25 years with TVEC.
Lightning strikes blew out transformers and fused power lines, he explained.
“Talking with our people, everybody was saying they don’t ever recall us having that many storms coming through,” Boze added. “It caused more problems than we had with (hurricane) Ike last year.”
The Kemp area was particularly hard hit, with numerous trees downed, and Boze said the Kaufman area of TVEC had the most outages.
A very few Oncor customers had to make repairs to their homes before the power could be turned back on, Walker reported.
The lake area and surrounding communities are served out of Oncor’s Athens Service Center, she said.
“Kemp residents are the exception – they are served out of Terrell, which is served out of Mesquite,” Walker added.
Walker said whenever bad weather is in the area, everyone should seek shelter, especially in lightning or high wind conditions.
“We normally try to wait until the force of the storm has passed before we send out assessment crews,” Walker said. “Then we give the assignments for repairs and roll the trucks.
“When we have a large storm, crews often come in from areas that were not impacted by the storm,” Walker explained. “For instance, we had crews come in from as far away as Lufkin.”
“We had all of our available crews out, and all of our contractors,” Boze said. “It just takes a while, when you’re covering a big area.
“It’s like fighting a swarm of bees,” he added.


Monitor Photo/Barbara Gartman
Trees were downed all over Kings Creek Golf Club as a result of storms Wednesday
night June 10. Fallen trees, lightning and high winds left more than 3,000 area residents
without electricity. This tree is at the entrance into Kings Creek Golf Club.

Rotary tourney brings in $7,000
By Barbara Gartman
Monitor Staff Writer
GUN BARREL CITY–While there’s still money coming in from hole sponsors and other sources, the recent Rotary golf tournament earned more than $7,000 over expenses, treasurer Glenda Holbrook reported.
The funds earned at the tournament go toward the 30 $500 scholarships awarded by the Rotary Club of Cedar Creek Lake to graduating seniors from Kemp, Mabank and Eustace high schools each year.
Friday, new member Tiffany Lillie was welcomed into the club at the weekly luncheon.
She received a club banner, a Rotary pin and an information packet.
June is Rotary Fellowship Month, members and guests were told by Lee Montgomery, who was handling the program and announcements for the event.
He said the various fellowships include 66 interests Rotarians take part in.
Montgomery showed a video of Rotarians assisting people wounded by land mines in countries where the armies have left, often leaving behind the implements of war.
Members were reminded of the upcoming Installation of Officers dinner at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 24, at the Cedar Creek Country Club.


Monitor Photo/Barbara Gartman
Former club presidents and directors welcome new member Tiffany Lillie (center)
into the Rotary Club of Cedar Creek Lake Friday. The club is a community service
organization that participates in local, national and International programs that benefit
mankind. Pictured (from left) are Andrea Pickens, Kathy Nailling, Glenda Holbrook,
Lillie, Lee Montgomery, Ronnie Davis and Mike Groom.

Health Fair set for Saturday June 20
Carter Blood to receive donations
Special to The Monitor
SEVEN POINTS–Aley United Methodist Church will host a Health Fair 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 20.
Dorothy Keefe, R.N., the church’s parish nurse, has invited a varied group of health care providers to offer health screenings and important information.
“Health fairs give the consumer an opportunity to do some comparison shopping before a need becomes drastic.
“Our purpose is to get medical access information out to the people, to make it possible for them to get affordable healthcare and if possible help them prevent health problems before they start,” Keefe said.
“Keefe has been a real help to the people of our church and many others in the community,” Pastor Eston Williams said. “We are excited to host this event,” he added.
Free screenings will be offered for those who wish to be checked for diabetes, hypertension and strokes, respiratory problems and other potential health challenges.
Represetatives from East Texas Medical Center and the Presbyterian Hospital in Kaufman have been invited.
Home health care options will be explained by folks from Country Nursing Solutions, Angel’s Care, At Home Health Care and Cedar Lake Home Health.
Alternative health care options will be explained by folks from Cedar Creek Health Care and Cedar Creek Wellness Spa.
Hospice services will be represented by Caring Hearts, Hospice of East Teas and Lighted Pathways.
Representatives from the American Cancer Society and the Alzheimer’s Association will also be there.
Home Instead will provide information about services they provide that enable a senior citizen to stay home as long as possible.
The Mabank Nursing Home and Cedarview House will share information about other living arrangements for seniors.
Financial options will be offered by Wells Fargo Bank and Tiffany Little will be there to share insurance options available through State Farm Insurance.
The Carter Blood Bank will be available for donations of blood.
A baked potato bar will be available with donations going to the church’s scholarship fund.
Aley United Methodist Church is located 1.5 miles west of Seven Points on Cedar Creek Parkway (State Highway 85.)