Damage Assessment Under Way In Panhandle

BOISE CITY, Okla. (AP) -- State and federal officials are joining local agencies in the Panhandle in assessing damage caused by recent winter storms.<br/><br/>State Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman

Monday, January 8th 2007, 3:15 pm

By: News On 6

BOISE CITY, Okla. (AP) -- State and federal officials are joining local agencies in the Panhandle in assessing damage caused by recent winter storms.

State Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Michelann Ooten says OEM and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are helping in the survey.

The snow and ice storms damaged public facilities, roads and bridges and electric and telephone systems in the Panhandle. Governor Henry has declared a state of emergency in Beaver, Texas and Cimarron counties.

About 1,500 homes and businesses remained without power in rural Cimarron and Texas counties. Ooten says Tri-County Electric Cooperative expects most of those customers to have electricity back on sometime tomorrow.

Ooten also says about eleven-thousand head of cattle were fed through the state's hay relief effort in which more than 201,000 pounds of hay were dropped from National Guard helicopters and delivered by flatbed trailers.