America's North Shore Journal

Army Sgt. Josh White of Company A, 206th Engineers of the Kentucky Army National Guard, carries a cooler of water to a residence in Leitchfield, Ky.

Kentucky National Guard troops are delivering record numbers of meals and bottled water as part of the relief effort supporting citizens affected by last week’s ice storm.

“This is a huge undertaking on the part of the Kentucky Guard,” Air Force Maj. Gen. Edward W. Tonini, the state’s adjutant general, said. “Our citizen-soldiers have delivered more than 450,000 meals so far to local communities, and we are on schedule to bring in 285,000 meals every day in the foreseeable future.”

In addition to the meals, nearly a million bottles of water have been handed out in regions where residents have no access to clean water. A half- million bottles of water are coming in on a daily basis.

“We are working around the clock to get critical supplies to the citizens of Kentucky,” Tonini said. “There is nothing more important than making sure everyone has food and water and a way to keep warm.”

Soldiers of the 307th Component Repair Company take cases of packaged meals from a C-23 Sherpa aircraft and load them on a 2.5-ton truck for transport to the distribution facility at Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center in Greenville, Ky., Feb. 2.

About 4,000 Kentucky National Guard troops remain on duty, removing debris and running communications sites in addition to delivering essential supplies. Most of the effort is in western Kentucky, where dozens of communities remain without power.

Restoration of electric power to water plants, communications facilities, shelters and homes remains a top priority. Troops are working with state and local crews in clearing road and gaining access to damaged power transmission lines. Guard members also are conducting wellness checks. Eighty-nine of Kentucky’s 120 counties have been cleared or do not require assistance.

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