The town of Allen was fortunate and saved from our water and system being shut down during last week’s storm. The Allen city workers battled the cold and snow to keep the system thawed out and in working order. A lot of towns in the state were not so lucky as we have seen Holdenville, Stonewall and Wetumka still battling to get water to their citizens.

However many local homeowners did suffer busted pipes and are on the long waiting list for plumbers. The State of Oklahoma is asking that those people report their damage.

There are so many people in Allen that worked together to keep people warm, fed and a supply of water during that rough week. Farmers State Bank bought space heaters for community use, Fire Chief Braylee Dickerson make several trips securing heaters and a generator for use if we needed to create a community warming shelter. The Masonic Lodge offered use of their facility if we needed to house people if power went out. Doug Stinson, Harry Ellis, Ty Gragert and Brandon Paylor kept the water and sewer flowing. Jeff and Amber Parnell helped deliver supplies to citizen using their side-by-side. Also we can’t forget Centerpoint, PSO and PEC worked hard keeping the power on.Countless people have offered money to help people with warmth and repair expenses. Numerous people helped their neighbor get unstuck or made trips to the store for them. In times of trouble you didn’t have to look far for help.

The Oklahoma Department Emergency Management and Homeland Security requested residents impacted by the recent winter storm report property damages online at damage.ok.gov.

“We are requesting all Oklahoma residents who suffered winter storm damages to please report online at damage.ok.gov,” said ODEMHS Director Mark Gower. “Reporting damage as soon as possible will greatly assist our ability to request additional federal assistance for the state as we recover from this historic storm.”

Through the online damage assessment survey, residents and business owners can report winter stormspecific impacts including:

• Flooding from broken pipes

• Power surges that caused damage to furnaces, electrical systems, or major appliances

• Number of days without water, gas, or electricity

• Number of days displaced by the winter storm Injuries sustained as a result of the winter storm Reporting damage helps ODEMHS document the overall impact of the winter storm and helps support the case for further assistance to help homeowners, renters and business owners recover.

Oklahomans can report damage to homes, businesses or agriculture through the online survey at damage. ok.gov.