Thank a first responder.

Thank the snowplow drivers for clearing the Powell highway last week after the historically bad cold and blizzard conditions. I was able to see personally the awful conditions while trying and failing to drive into town the morning of Dec. 21 – I made it to Ralston around 6:30 a.m., driving at a creep because I could hardly see in the blizzard, before the drifts in the road proved too much for my car and I drove back home to get the F-250, at which point the highway was closed. When I finally was able to drive in around 1 p.m. when the road opened, it was darn near clear. 

Thank the troopers, deputies and police officers who helped people escape stranded vehicles when conditions were so bad last week that vehicles went off the road because people couldn’t see. 

Thank the paramedics who rush out to help — last week one was killed and another critically injured in Rawlins when they were hit by a truck as they worked to assist a driver on the interstate. 

Thank the utility workers who responded to ensure power was on and heaters were working when they were most needed. And the city streets department crews were out early with snowplows and dump trucks to clear streets, such as Seventh Street, that were treacherous on the edge of developed residential areas.

With the memory of temperatures in the minus 40s still fresh in our minds a week later, it’s a good time to think of the men and women in our community who go out when everyone is being advised to stay home to protect and serve the community. 

We have volunteers in our community who willingly drop everything and respond to fires, wrecks and other emergency calls as part of our volunteer fire department. That they willingly put that responsibility on top of their daily lives is incredible and worthy of praise. 

We should also recognize the school district administration who put the plan in place to be able to smoothly delay and then cancel school last week — my two boys enjoyed an early start to winter break — while keeping families abreast of developments. For instance, I was called by my sons’ rural-route bus driver the day before to let me know the pickup date if school would’ve happened Dec. 21. I also received a text, email and saw a Facebook post giving me info, followed by a recorded phone call from the superintendent, Jay Curtis. 

The county, city and school district clearly had plans in place for that type of event. 

So, what it really comes down to is these are the people who help make Powell such a great place to live. So, now that we’re out of the deep freeze, thank those people who helped us through it.