Back in business, after a near miss - or two

For almost four hours this afternoon, the relative comfort that the city of Natchitoches utility consumers were enjoying during Hurricane/TS Gustav came to a sudden halt. The city power popped off at the end of the lunch hour and was restored around the 5 o'clock hour.

It altered the Demon football team's practice plan -- NSU was going to wear full gear, but some of that gear was still in the drier about 1 so the team went to work in shorts and shoulder pads.

It almost caused one important member of the football staff four hours of isolation.

Film crew guru Mike Huesmann had just taken the camera gear to the sixth level film deck, overlooking the 50-yard line at Turpin Stadium. After setting up the gear, he strode toward the elevator, hit the button, saw the doors open, took a step inside and ..... lights out.

Ten seconds quicker and Mike would have been stuck in the elevator for quite some time.

That was not the closest call for an NSU staffer Tuesday.

Head athletic trainer Ed Evans and a neighbor on Mr. Ed Lane (really, that's the street) were clearing limbs and a tree that had tangled into power lines. That is usually something that shouldn't be done, due to the risk of the power line being hot, but in this case, there was no question about whether there was any electricity to worry about.

Turns out, that wasn't the risk factor. And Ed will not be in the tree clearing business ever again.

As they twisted the cable loose, it was wrapped around a broken portion of the trunk of the tree. Evans estimates it was a 200-pound chunk of wood with a jagged edge. The cable snapped and jerked one way, and popped the wood up in the air. Evans had the choice to dodge the cable or the wood. He chose correctly.

But barely. The chunk of pine landed right behind him, actually brushing his back. If he had been a half-foot further back, "I'd be dead right now," he admitted.

When it was suggested that his head was too hard for that to happen, he said not even that quality would have saved him.

While the city utilities are restored, those who live outside city limits are hoping for a quick resolution tonight. Sheriff Vic Jones arranged for an 18-wheeler packed with ice, which helped a lot of folks save food about to spoil in their freezers.

Ever the resourceful one, basketball coach Mike McConathy thought ahead and had dry ice for his fridge and freezer.