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Former local residents deal with Irma

PARKERSBURG — Some former Mid-Ohio Valley residents weathered the storm in Florida where Hurricane Irma wreaked devastation upon the Sunshine State.

Vienna native Lauren Smith Heeren, a 2003 graduate of Parkersburg High School, lives in DeLand, Fla., about 30 miles west of Daytona Beach. Although some folks around them evacuated, she, her husband David and their 4-year-old son, Robert, decided to ride out Irma, which didn’t reach them until around 6 p.m. Sunday.

“We decided to stay because we made it through Hurricane Matthew last year, which was pretty bad, and so we thought we could handle Irma,” Heeren said. “My husband is a native Floridian, and so he just boarded up the windows and we stayed inside.”

On Monday afternoon, Heeren — communicating by text message because cell service was severely limited — said power had been out for nearly 24 hours. There were trees and branches down all over town, but their home and vehicles are fine, she said.

“The sound of the wind blowing and, occasionally, the sound of tree branches snapping when you are in total darkness is scary,” Heeren said. “But Robert just slept through it all. He really didn’t even notice.”

The neighborhood looked like a battlefield Monday afternoon and the winds were still high, she said. But there were also positive signs.

“We saw butterflies and birds flying around this afternoon, and I was so amazed that they could survive this,” Heeren said. “It seemed hopeful.”

George Kellenberger, who was president of the Chamber of Commerce of the Mid-Ohio Valley, and Steve Grimm, former Wood County assessor and commissioner, both said the wind damaged the areas where they live, but they didn’t lose electrical power.

“We didn’t get the storm surge either,” said Grimm, who with his wife, Dee, lives in Siesta Key near Sarasota, about 70 miles south of Tampa.

After blasting Cuba and the Caribbean islands, Irma turned north toward Florida where it touched the Keys early Sunday morning and went up the Florida mainland.

More than 6 million residents have lost power in Florida.

“Lots of rain, lots of wind,” said Kellenberger, who lives in The Villages, located about 45 miles northwest of Orlando.

Kellenberger praised the emergency planning by the administration of Gov. Rick Scott, who encouraged residents to evacuate to safe ground days before Irma, which was a Category 5 storm, went into Florida.

“He had his ducks in a row,” Kellenberger said.

Irma, while still a severe storm, lost strength, he said.

“We were blessed,” Grimm said.

The Fort Myers area was hit harder, but 1998 Parkersburg South graduate Mindy Lux Larson and her family didn’t wait around to see it.

Along with their 1-year-old twins Sonora and Parker, Larson and her husband, Dave, hit the road on the evening of Sept. 12, beating the rush of evacuees that reportedly left some motorists stranded along the side of the road. They made their way to Valdosta, Ga., but could only get one night in a hotel there. Then they stayed with friends in South Carolina before forecasts indicated the storm was heading that way.

“We figured if we came to my sister’s house (in Vienna), at least we knew we could stay forever,” she said with a laugh, before amending her statement to a long time while her sister, Kristi Suder, was in earshot.

They got to Vienna late Friday night and spent most of the weekend watching news coverage of Irma.

“It’s been really stressful,” Larson said. “I have several friends that stayed there, and I was so worried.”

Larson said they’ve heard from their friends, all of whom are safe. One stopped by their house to assess the storm damage.

“The neighborhood’s flooded. It was shin-deep in the road,” she said.

Trees were down all around but none had struck the house, Larson said. A townhouse she rents out had a wooden fence around it that is nowhere to be found, she said.

Larson said she’s experienced hurricanes before in Florida, but having young children and the experience of Hurricane Charley in 2004 made her decide not to stick around for Irma.

Over the course of their journey, she said, the family met many nice people along the way. Twice, they had meals bought for them when folks realized they were traveling from Florida to get away from the hurricane.

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