Hoven, Tolstoy residents persevere through power outage

Dec. 30--POTTER COUNTY -- Despite enduring an ice storm-induced power outage since Sunday afternoon, the small towns in Potter County are persevering, ensuring everyone in the community is taken care of -- even the thieves.

Someone made off with two of Brady Hartung's gas tanks sometime before the Hoven Co-Op open on Thursday, but Hartung took the thievery in stride.

"If they needed it to keep warm, I don't care, they can have it. But I'd like to get my tanks back at least," Hartung joked with fellow co-op employee Joe Hartung.

At least 600 gallons of propane have been purchased at the co-op, fueling a majority of the generators residents are relying on as a sole source of power.

"There are a lot of generators running right now, I'd say between 50 and 75 as a rough guess. Maybe even more," Brady Hartung said.

Power lines encased in thick ice plus high winds have made it difficult to repair broken lines, according to Tony Spilde, spokesman for Montana-Dakota Utilities.

"The freezing rain that came down during the first part of the storm built up on the conductors almost like an airplane wing; winds are lifting and dropping conductors, so in some cases the heavier-than-normal lines are breaking off again as soon as we can fix them," Spilde said in an email.

That has left around 400 Hoven residents without power since Sunday afternoon.

Hartung said the local steakhouse, Boone's Bar and Grill, was a hot meal oasis Wednesday night where nearly 40 locals stopped in to regroup and have their fill.

"It was really a morale booster, one that we needed," Hartung said.

Hot meals may be hard to come by for the folks in Hoven. For some businesses, the less heat that seeps into their building the better.

That's the case for Krueger's Food Fair, owned by Kyle and LaDeen Krueger of Hoven.

Kyle Krueger said the store has been staying open long enough for residents to restock on groceries.

"We have an ample supply of product, and we have plenty of milk and bread. That's what they're coming in for, the essentials, some cold meat for sandwiches, because they can't run their stoves or ovens without power. In general, it's working out. We try to open up for a few hours a day with no heat. We don't want to run a lot of heat so we can try to keep all everything cold and keep our products safe," Krueger said.

On Thursday morning, Spilde said power should be restored to 300 customers in the Hoven area on Friday. Those in Tolstoy and Onaka, 80 and 40 customers respectively, should have power on Saturday.

And not a moment too soon, according to Krueger.

"So far it's been OK, there's been a lot of sleepless nights and things like that, but that happens. I think we're starting to wear thin. I think the first few days it was kind of fun to live with a generator like the old days, but it's getting a little old now," Krueger said, adding that Hoven is no stranger to hard times.

"Our town is a pretty good town, we've gone through a lot of devastation with the school burning down and putting up with the new highway through the summer but we'll get through it. It'll be a Christmas miracle if the power comes back on today. Another day and we'll start losing dairy products. But we have insurance that will cover it," he said.

At the Prairie Stop convenience store in Hoven, owner Janet Hartung is taking measures to avoid having to toss spoiled food in the trash.

"It'll start to go on the fourth day, and this is the fourth day. We have three freezers we were able to use, and three coolers that were given to us, so we're going to stick those in the (truck). Everything is still frozen, but it's starting to get soft. The rest of the stuff, it'll be fine," Janet Hartung said.

Relief will come as soon as Potter County Sheriff Curtis Hamburger returns from Mitchell with a generator from the state, she added.

Twelve miles to the east in Tolstoy, locals are warming their bellies, courtesy of a local business owner and city board members.

Jo Naef, owner of Jo's Cafe in Tolstoy, has been donating her food and time to provide a hot lunch at the community center every day at noon until power is restored.

"Today is going to be pizza and soup day. I just got the pizza stuck in the oven and I have set out some fruit," Naef said as she prepared the day's lunch on Thursday.

Naef, who was forced to close her cafe due to the power outage, has found another way to keep the folks of Tolstoy fed.

"It's been pretty well staying the same, about six to 12 people come around, but the town only has a total of 32 people," Naef said.

"Right now people are trying to stick close to home," she added.

The noon lunch also brings everyone together, said Tolstoy board member Corey Johannsen. Eleven people took in a noontime lunch on Thursday.

A shelter has also been set up for anyone in need of a warm place to wait out the power outage, which wouldn't be possible had the town not taken the measures to ensure a safe place in such a case, Johannsen said.

After the town of Tolstoy had to rely on a generator from FEMA, Johannsen said the town board decided to apply for a grant through a local charity called the Maas Foundation that would cover the costs of their own generator.

"It was right after the last ice storm we had in 2010. We had a generator from FEMA then to keep everything from freezing up. And you know, small communities have limited funds. We asked for that grant and they pretty much covered the entire cost of generator," he said.

The Maas Foundation was set up by area farmers in Potter County. A board distributes the funds to local governments and organizations.

The 20,000-kilowatt generator is big enough to energize the entire community center, which boosts a postal service section, a kitchen, a recreation room and a full basketball court.

"It is big enough to run this whole building. However, we're only running the school side and the gym. But we did it so we could have something here to use an emergency shelter, if there was ever a tornado or a catastrophe we would have this shelter for people to have a safe haven," Johannsen said.

"A lot of these people don't have enough electricity to run maybe a frying pan, if they're lucky. So it gets them out of their house for a little bit. I think they were taking a couple meals to a couple shut-ins too."

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