(Kiki's Corner by Kiki Angelos - Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey declared a state of emergency last Sunday afternoon in connection with the Peoples Cartage warehouse fire on Camden Avenue in Parkersburg.

I want to personally thank the brave first responders, firefighters, emergency personnel, law enforcement officers and environmental teams for the numerous hours they worked. I know they put themselves in danger and because of that I’m very proud of them. What a huge and dangerous job they had to face for several days on top of the extremely high temperatures we had and continue to have.

It was very important to protect our Wood County people and everyone involved. We are so proud that in our community we have so many generous people that provided food, drinks and snacks. I know it was greatly appreciated.

They’re still monitoring the air quality. I have to say the smoke was strong the first few days. The professionals are taking it seriously because they want all of us to remain healthy and not have any issues or problems later on.

I have never seen smoke so black that it covered the sky. I’m sure all of us would like to know what caused the fire because the warehouse was a storage facility for different companies.

We are so thankful that no one was hurt, and that was because of all the prayers that they received from all of us. Since we couldn’t help, we were praying for them and their families. I just can’t imagine how they felt to wait for their loved ones to come home .

I hope we don’t have to face anything like that again. It’s very disturbing, upsetting and worrying for our whole Mid-Ohio Valley. Please let’s stay safe and healthy and protect each other.

That smoke cannot be good for anyone, especially for people with asthma and lung problems. I hope that people with outside jobs took that into consideration and stayed inside as much as they could when the fire was burning.

It was for sure a massive fire that destroyed millions of dollars items that were stored in that warehouse. Let’s all pray for all the people that they were involved in that fire and thank God they are safe.

This is another huge fire in south Parkersburg. We all remember the Ames fire that destroyed the whole building. I hope they had good insurance.

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Frozen tomato salad

1 tbsp unflavored gelatin

1/4 cup cold water

1 No. 2 can tomatoes

1 cup celery, and celery leaves, chopped

2 tbsp diced onion

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

6 whole cloves

6 peppercorns

spring thyme

1 bay leaf

1 cup whipping cream, whipped

1/2 tsp paprika

Soak gelatin in cold water. Heat tomatoes, celery, onion and all seasonings in the saucepan and simmer gently for about 10 minutes. Strain and add at once to the softened gelatin. Mix thoroughly and chill. When mixture begins to thicken, fold in the whipped cream. Pour into freezing tray and place in freezing compartment until thick. When frozen, unmold and serve on lettuce with mayonnaise dressing.

Very refreshing!

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Broccoli-Cauliflower Salad

2 cups mayonnaise

1 cup sugar

4 tbsp vinegar

8 oz. cheddar cheese, cubed or shredded

1 head cauliflower, finely cut tops

1 head broccoli, finely cut tops

1 pound bacon, fried and crumbled

1 medium red onion, diced

Mix the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar together. Let set in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, mix the rest of the ingredients and toss with marinade from the night before.