Despite Rains, School Buses Ran Monday

Jeff Davis County schools were in session Monday.
Normally, that’s not news. But after 7-8 inches of rain fell in the three rivers area Saturday and Sunday, schools were closed in most if not all surrounding counties Monday morning because buses couldn’t take their normal routes because of flooded and muddy roads.
County Administrator Keith Carter says the fact that school buses were able to traverse the county’s dirt roads Monday morning was a feather in the cap of County Road Department Head Robert Lewis and his crew of workers.
“It’s a real testament to those guys and their dedication,” Carter said.
While there were some road issues Monday morning, Road Department employees were able to fix those problems before the buses began their normal routes, said Jeff Davis County Emergency Management Agency Director Charles Wasdin.
Wasdin said he measured seven inches of rain at his home and he had heard reports of as high as eight inches in the Altamaha area. Overall, the county survived the heavy downpour well with the exception of downtown Hazlehurst.
The shops on Tallahassee Street between South Railroad and Latimer streets were flooded as drains in the area became clogged and there were partial roof collapses in a couple of stores due to the heavy deluge of rain.
While there were rumors of a tornado touching down near Snipesville, Wasdin said he had heard no such reports. However, watching weather radar Sunday, Wasdin spotted a “high level rotation” between Pridgen and Snipesville. The county’s dangerous weather warning system picked up the rotation and sirens sounded in Hazlehurst and Denton to alert citizens. Wasdin said the danger lasted about 45 minutes.
“There were no serious issues,” Wasdin said. “But we had a lot of water on the ground, that’s for sure. We haven’t seen water like that in a while.”
Which makes the work of the County Road Department impressive, indeed.