INDEPENDENCE, Va. – Nearly one year after Helene, recovery continues in Grayson County.
The area experienced some of the worst damage and flooding from the storm in Southwest Virginia.
The county’s response was hampered by an outdated communications system after the storm knocked out power countywide. It’s an issue that has plagued the county even under normal circumstances.
“In parts of the county, we’re effectively cut off from other parts of the county,” County Administrator Steve Boyer said. “We have a real officer safety issue when we send officers in parts of the county we’re effectively cut off from other parts of the county. We can’t call for backup. We can’t call for assistance. We’re not able to communicate if there’s an EMS issue.”
Now, a year later, there’s a new digital radio system with four transmission points across the county. It allows one-touch communication among first responders, county officials and Grayson County Public Schools.
“This has been a tremendous upgrade to help us from the storm. We wish we would have had this at that time,” said Kelly Wilmore, superintendent of Grayson County Public Schools. “And you know, something like this allows us to get ahold of our buses a whole lot faster, you know, across the district much quicker and being able to have a much quicker response time if we need to send the buses home.”
The county is now partnering with U.S. Cellular on upgrades in the western part of the county, including the Mount Rogers area. The total project is partially funded through grants and has cost approximately $5 million.
The improvements come as the community works to move past Helene.
“There’s still a lot to be accomplished. We still have people that are displaced from homes,” Boyer said. “We have farmers that are still trying to clean up their agriculture sites and rebuild their farms.”
But he said the county is now better prepared in case another disaster strikes.