The wind was blowing seemingly from all directions on Monday, and it was exceedingly unpleasant in town. Highway conditions were dangerous and ten cars had crashed with multiple injuries. More travelers were in ditches.
The highway was promptly closed and traffic redirected.
Despite the terrible dust storm that covered U.S. Highway 56 in southwest Barton County, our emergency personnel headed in the storm in an effort to keep people safe and assist those who were injured.
It was not a nice afternoon to respond to the call. In fact, even arriving at the location of the wrecks must have been no easy task. It sure would have been a lot easier to sit the office and look out the window.
Imagine standing in that dust, much less trying to work. They could have said, “It’s too dangerous, let’s wait.”
Heading out into a storm where one can’t see the end of the hood of one’s own car takes courage.
Our law enforcement, fire fighters, and Emergency Medical Services personnel responded. And when they returned home from their task, there probably wasn’t an inch of skin that wasn’t sand blasted with gritty eyes and dust-filled ears.
Undoubtedly, they would say they were doing their job.
But, additional lives could have been lost without the prompt response.
Kudos to them on a job well done.
Karen La Pierre