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brought in meals for those manning the Command Center. He is the former pastor at First Baptist Church of Alamo. Samaritan’s Purse and the Southern Baptist Association signed up to come and help. Dixon said there are so many heroes who have done extraordinary things that people may never know about. She referenced the many GBI agents — on duty and off duty — who drove into sites for search and rescue, bogged down their vehicles, and went on by foot, crawling over downed trees to reach people who were trapped in their homes.

The National Guard arrived “full force” to clear debris from roads, and by Friday, all roads in the county were open, allowing linemen full access to areas needing restoration of power, Adams reported. Members of the GSP, who had arrived to help with law enforcement and response efforts, went door-to-door to check on residents who were known to be homebound or whose homes had been damaged by the storm.

Rodgers related that the Georgia Forestry Commission was instrumental in clearing roads. “They worked around the clock and even before other assistance came in, they were working alongside private citizens trying to clear a path through the destruction.”

On Wednesday and Thursday following the hurricane, a Chinook helicopter from Hunter Army Air Base landed in the county’s recreation center field to offload three shipments totaling 6,000 MREs (meals ready to eat), which were dispersed at the PODs (points of distribution). Shipments of water and ice arrived from Alabama. PODs were established in Alamo and Glenwood where residents could obtain water, food, tarps, and other supplies.

Sadly, an armed robbery in Glenwood and a break-in which occurred in the county prompted a county-wide curfew of 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily, but, no other incidents had occurred as of Friday. That curfew was still in effect as of Friday.

As the weekend came, the county was beginning to right itself, but recovery will continue for months, even years. The landscape has truly changed. In Wheeler County, a lot of tree farmers will be dealing with thousands of acres of downed and damaged timber which have to be harvested and hauled to market very soon — even at lower prices — if anything is to be salvaged. Pecan growers who were hoping to begin harvesting their crops soon are documenting losses and looking for federal assistance to help them recover. Farmers, who had cotton and peanuts in the fields which were in the process of being harvested, are also assessing their losses.

State Senator Blake Tillery of Vidalia, who was with Governor Brian Kemp when he visited Wheeler County on October 1, said, “It’s not going to be a fast recovery. The moves we make right now are going to lay out how this recovery works not just for the next few weeks, but the next few months.”

Representative Leesa Hagan of Lyons, who was also with the Governor as he surveyed the area damage said, “Once we assessed the situation we discovered there was deeper damage than we originally thought. I think the long term is going to be a real struggle because we are going to have to rebuild homes and businesses. This has been a setback, but I am hearing consistently that people are pulling together and there is a lot of hope that we will recover and move forward.”

Wheeler County has sustained an unprecedented blow, but the community — and its many supporters — are banding together to work together to recover. A makeshift sign in the window of the Alamo’s Community Center says it all: “#Wheeler Strong #Georgia Strong.”