Storm duty: As a community newspaper we tried hard to do our part

As Hurricane Matthew blew in Saturday, we sat with bated breath and wide eyes hoping that Wayne County would be spared, but we quickly realized that would not be the case as the roads became inundated with water.

We saw the fury of the storm and the ravaging effects of an angry and surging river as it swallowed up homes, livelihoods and communities.

And, as a community newspaper, we did the only thing that we knew to do to help. We put our staff in the streets of the city. We opened our website content up for the community for free. We reported the perils that could await travelers and frantically offered updated information about road closures, locations of rushing water, where people needed to leave and where people needed to go.

And in doing so, we hope that we helped someone and saved someone.

When the river swelled above its banks, we took to the sky to get the information to the areas most devastated by the flooding, and we mobilized on the ground with photos and live footage in hope that those stranded on islands in the flooded river or exiled to areas away from home could see what the damages were and possibly offer a ray of hope.

We attended meeting after meeting with emergency personnel and made countless phone calls to power companies and highway officials in hope that any scrap of new information would provide some sort of relief to a someone in the community we serve.

As we became witness to such loss and devastation, we also became witness to something else. The divisions that keep us apart like race, income, political affiliation and creed dissolved and the county, the community, fell under one umbrella — that of humanity.

We have never been so humbled and so proud of the community in which we serve, and we will continue to be your eyes and your ears in this time of grief, recovery and hope.

Published in Editorials on October 16, 2016 9:51 AM