Kemper County bundles up for winter storm

Nearly 1,500 homes were without power Monday night in Kemper County during the winter storm that blanketed the area with ice and snow.

The temperature reached 15 degrees during the night and the wind chill was in the single digits. Another cold night was expected Tuesday night.

East Mississippi Power Association crews and other emergency services were out throughout the night.

“For the most part, people adhered to our advisory to stay at home and off the roads,” Sheriff James Moore said. “There were a few accidents, mostly people sliding off the roads. But we aren’t aware of any injuries.”

Sheriff Moore said his department checked on some elderly residents throughout the night but no one was moved to another location.

Sheriff Moore said the food distribution program his department recently started will not be operating this week.

“We will be back open next Wednesday,” Moore said. “We gave out around 1,400 boxes of food last week. Just come by the sheriff’s department. We start at 11 a.m. and stay open until we run out of food.”

Kemper County board of supervisors president Pat Granger said county crews were out, putting salt on bridges and clearing roads.

“We appreciate our county employees for the work they do,” Granger said. “We cleared the ice and tried to make it safe for our residents.”

Granger said the courthouse would be closed Tuesday and Wednesday.

Emergency response manager Ben Dudley said the ice was the heaviest on the west side of the county.

“We are looking for it to start thawing out by Wednesday afternoon,” Dudley said. “The west side of the county is all ice. It’s slick.”

DeKalb Mayor Clark Adams said the power was off for about an hour in town but came back on. He said city workers were on standby,