Rural Oklahomans Dealing With Storm's Aftermath

Saturday, January 20th 2007, 9:10 pm

By: News On 6

The tiny town of Hitchita is still struggling to recover from last weekend's ice storm, while bracing for this second storm. Like many rural areas, Hitchita was still without water as Saturdayâ€™s storm approached.

News on 6 reporter Chris Wright has more on how the small community is coping with the foul weather.

The rain has started to turn to snow here in Tulsa, down south Saturdayâ€™s round of wintry weather is only making recovery more difficult for rural areas.

For generations, the Hitchita Country Store has been a meeting place for many of the town's 100 residents. But a week after the ice storm, the store's shelves are bare, the gas pumps are dry and the store may have to close its doors.

"This hit us pretty hard, we had a rough year this year,â€ said storeowner Charles Griffin. â€œSeveral stores didn't make it, we made it through it, this ice storm, I don't know if we're going to make it through it or not."

Ranchers in Hitchita have also not fared well since the storm hit. The cold weather means cattle need to eat one and a half to two times as much hay as normal, and with hay already in short supply, ranchers say the wintry weather is only making things worse.

Water also remains scarce everywhere in Hitchita. The town has been without water for the past couple of days. A privately owned well is one of the last sources of fresh water in town. It's owned by a local man, who says anyone who needs water is more than welcome to it.

"Anybody who needs it is welcome to it, we'll use it to we go dry," Hitchita resident Bart Winter said.

Bart Winter says people have been stopping by for the last few days to borrow a couple of gallons from his well.

This ice chest was heading back to the Hitchita Country Store, where the regulars are holding out hope that their meeting place will somehow survive the storm.

"I've lived here my entire life, this storm means a lot to me, they're a good family, they're good people, I really don't want to see them move," Sarah Hood Hitchita resident said.

Power was restored to about half the Hitchita area Saturday. But thereâ€™s no word yet on when they will have running water again.