While Fay’s wrath literally rained down on South Georgia over the weekend, the community worked together to battle her fury. Driving down the streets Monday morning, one would not imagine the intense winds and soaking rain that the area endured just two days before. Streets did not flood, debris seemed to be piled or already disposed of, and downed trees and power lines were something of the past.

City, county and school officials were well prepared. A game plan was in place before the storm struck and the efforts to contain the damage worked flawlessly. Personnel from the city and county public works departments prepared for the storm by cleaning out drainage areas, which kept the streets from flooding. The city also lowered the Millpond, which worked well to retain much of the heavy rainfall. During the storm, these employees were out on the roadways clearing debris and downed trees. Utility companies worked through the downpour to restore power, leaving few without it for more than just a couple of hours.

Once again, the county was also able to utilize the CodeRed emergency notification system that was put in place earlier this year to warn citizens about the possibility of flash floods. Citizens did a good job of staying off the road and used extra caution when travel became necessary.

School officials were aware of the forecasts and were able to make the decision to cancel classes early Thursday evening instead of surprising parents with the news early Friday morning.

And despite the forecast, the Valdosta State University Blazers fearlessly took the field in the not-so-perfect weather and started the season off with a bang. Though Fay kept the television crews away forcing the expected nationwide broadcast to be canceled, the Blazers battled through the storm defeating Fort Valley State 56-3.

The response to Tropical Storm Fay was well executed and the bulk of the credit goes to the preparation of area officials. Though the 2008 hurricane season is just getting warmed up, area officials have shown that they are prepared to handle whatever Mother Nature can toss their way.