LEDC Update

I’m writing this article on Sunday, April 26, and still reeling from an extremely busy weekend that isn’t quite over yet.

The storms that struck Linden on Friday night managed to create some pretty significant damages to our downtown as well as surrounding neighborhoods and residences outside of the city.

It was shocking to see how much damage was done by a storm that lasted all of 15-30 minutes in total, but our community just as quickly sprang into action to set things right. As soon as weather conditions subsided, utilities crews from SWEPCO, Bowie Cass Electric Co-op, Windstream, and others were out in force to get services functioning again as fast as possible.

Law enforcement, first responders, and fire crews from multiple precincts also worked tirelessly to undo the damage done by the storm.

Alongside them were groups of Lindenites working to help their neighbors remove debris and assess damages. Words cannot express the sense of pride I felt in my hometown seeing everyone out helping put the pieces back together.

This weekend we also had some mobile COVID-19 testing in the drive-thru behind the LEDC. This was short-notice testing ordered by the Texas Governor’s office that was being implemented across multiple rural counties to try and gauge the spread of the virus through our area.

The testing was done to get clearer data to determine how the state would begin to re-open the facets of our economy that have been suspended over the past couple of weeks.

We were initially approached by the Texas Department of State Health Services and we worked with them and the Texas State Guard to ensure that our facility was fully available to their team.

The testing took place all day Sunday and the group operated with the utmost professionalism and efficiency. Hopefully, the data that was collected here can factor in as a piece of a much bigger picture that will inform our state lawmakers on how best to proceed in their efforts to breath some life into our economy.

We’ve had quite a few disasters come our way over the past couple of weeks, but each one that we’ve faced has only served to unify us and make us stronger.

I’ve seen community members going shopping for others who are at greater risk of exposure to disease, I’ve seen locals sewing face masks for healthcare workers and first responders who must continue to work despite the pandemic, and now I’ve seen neighbors working late into the night to help each other recover from a destructive storm.

No matter the obstacle that gets placed in our way, we persevere.