Local Businesses Push Through Power Outage

by Charlotte Purdy

Shopping local was taken to a new level over the past week during the power outage that resulted from the storm that rolled through Arkansas County on Sunday, April 12, 2020. In today’s world of technology, electricity is used to not only power the refrigerated and frozen items in grocery stores, but the computers used to make sales and track inventory.

Without electricity, some businesses are unable to continue with their regular daily sales and have to find other innovative ways to continue serving their customers. Several local businesses were able to keep business running after hooking up to generators, and others were left depending on the sunlight to “power” the inside of their buildings.

As if COVID-19 hadn’t already taken a toll on the businesses in DeWitt, the power outage just added more strain, but the businesses, and community members, stepped up and kept our small town running after the storms.

I have always said how important it is to shop local, and this past week really reminded me of the true importance of supporting our local businesses. The business owners and employees depend on the citizens of DeWitt to keep them running. Even more so than electricity. By shopping local, you are not only supporting that business, but you are supporting those who work there.

Over the past week, as citizens needed gas, ice, prescriptions and grocery items, they knew that they could get what they NEEDED right here in DeWitt. Employees around the city stepped up, worked extended hours, and made sure they were able to help customers get what they needed without skipping a beat.

Pharmacies extended their delivery options to ensure that everyone had their prescriptions and necessities. Restaurants took their cooking outside to the grills, offered home deliveries, and made sure that there was plenty of hot food for the linemen working diligently to restore power. Other businesses depended on their math skills to tally up the sales.

By the middle of the week, no electricity began taking its toll on the business employees and owners and exhaustion began setting in. They not only pulled extra hours to keep business running, but they went home and worked in their yards, and their neighbor’s yards, to clean up the debris left behind after the storms. They didn’t let it get the best of them though, as their goal was to continue serving DeWitt and Arkansas County.

The past week, the week of April 12 - April 19, 2020 was a reminder to us all. SHOP LOCAL. Support your local businesses. They are the ones who were there throughout the storms making sure you could get what you NEEDED.

Hats off to every single business who continued to work after the storm making sure that the citizens of DeWitt could get what they needed. You are all rock stars! We all greatly appreciate you!



Thompson Ad
Thompson Ad
Thompson Ad