KTHS Photo  - Female deer, looking for some extra nourishment during deep snow cover,
come up to an area that had accumulated ground corn and sunflower seeds thrown out to birds and squirrels by residents. According to Google, Deer are herbivores. They eat grass, leaves, stems, shoots, berries, herbs, acorns, mushrooms, wild fruit and agriculture crops like corn and soy beans.

Deer are ruminants (cud chewers) and have a four-chambered stomach. Other ruminants include cattle, goats and antelope. Deer start eating in the morning. They hardly chew their food which goes into the first stomach. While they rest, the food will move to the second stomach and form little balls. Now the food is brought back to the mouth and chewed. This chewed food goes into the third and fourth stomachs.

In the winter months, when less food is available, deer will become less active. By slowing down, they can get by eating only about one third of the food they normally eat. They will also hang out in the woods more to escape the cold winds.

                
The northern half of Arkansas was blasted with a winter storm, Thursday night into Saturday, before it exited the state and moved Northeast.  Most areas received varying amounts of snowfall, beginning with sleet and freezing rain.  Snow totals indicated anywhere from 3" to 12", in the extreme.   Some counties declared a disaster, and Gov. Mike Beebe also declared a state of emergency, Friday, freeing up some money for county Emergency Management departments.  Carroll Electric Coop had standby crews from other areas ready to activate to any power interruption.  Fortunately, according to Nancy Plagge at Carroll Electric, only a few people experienced temporary outage.  State and local road crews in N.W. Arkansas, including Carroll County, would have been wasting efforts and resources to try to maintain roads while the storm was still in progress.  On Saturday, the scanner was full of conversation with road crews finally getting out to blade and clear roads.  Traffic Saturday was moving slowly, but moving.  A warning trend is to begin Sunday into next week to further the melting process.  KTHS will air cancellations, including church services, beginning at 6am Sunday morning. 

Just one year ago to the day, Jan. 26, 2009, the folks at Carroll Electric Cooperative met to set into motion the preliminary phase of its “Emergency Restoration Plan.”  

Then,the storm hit. While the ice sparkled with beauty, its brilliance was short-lived when roads were covered with trees, homes damaged, and power poles broken by the weight of the ice. The damage was unlike any other event.

Fast forward 365 days. Carroll Electric’s team met again to consider the weather forecast. “It is hard to imagine an event like our members endured last year, but we understand we can’t control the weather. You don’t want to take anything for granted.” said David Brock, V.P., who leads the planning process. The Cooperative’s Emergency Restoration Plan is a living, breathing plan that considers all aspects of a large scale event.