Sperry Officials Turn Town Hall Into Temporary Bunkhouse For Linemen Workers

Sperry’s town hall building is being used as an air-conditioned oasis for 20 linemen in town to help bring power back to Green Country.

The parking lot at Expo Square hosts trucks carrying more than 2700 utility workers from 20 states, all mobilized across Green Country, ready to bring power back to more and more places.

But the same power issues that they've been working to resolve have filled up hotels and motels.

It's left many workers wondering where to sleep.

That’s why Sperry Mayor Debra Burch got a call from a former Sperry resident and PSO worker, asking to use town hall as a bunkhouse.

“I said, how about our boardroom?" Burch said. "We could at least take 20 or more if we needed to do so. And she was so excited, she called me back and said, 'you're on the list.'”

Mayor Burch said she and others jumped into action, laying out cots and ensuring the room was nice and cold.

"These cots are FEMA cots, they go all the way back to 2007 when we had the ice storm," she said. "A lot were still boxed up.”

Once the word spread, people from town asked how they could help.

She said the arrival of the 20 linemen Tuesday night was a success.

“It was just when they walked in it was cold, they saw the cots and were like they thought it was the Hilton or Ritz or Taj Mahal for them.”

The hospitality of this town continued with all the food and drink given by citizens, who continue to come by with even more to share.

Mayor Burch said she’s overwhelmed by all the support, as are all the linemen.

“If you call out to them, they respond, and that's one of the best blessings of this town is people rally around when there's a need," she said.