Sheriff’s Deputies in Jones County Work Around Clock to Clear Roadways

GRAY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Jones County sheriff’s deputies are trading in their handcuffs for chainsaws.

Crews cleared miles of roadways in the county, and got rid of more than 500 trees that blocked roads in the area.

“It just started raining, the rain froze, limbs started breaking, coming down on top of the house, all kinds of stuff,” Ellis Hammock, one homeowner who’s house was damaged by fallen trees. 

He says he knew the freezing weather would get bad, but this isn’t what he expected.

“I don’t want to do anything until the insurance company checks things out. But I have taken pictures just in case they need that,” Hammock said. 

His house is wrapped with tangled power lines and downed trees.

“We’ve got several holes in the roof. We’ve got holes in the ceiling inside the house. Yeah it’s pretty bad,” Hammock said. 

Jones County sheriff’s deputies have worked around the clock, clearing roadways and neighborhoods like Hammock’s of tree limbs and debris.

“We’ve been working at it for better than 16 hours now, trying to clear up the roads for emergency vehicles to be able to get through in case there is an emergency,” Captain Billy Mitchell with the Jones County Sheriff’s Office said. 

Jones County inmates joined the dozens of crews around the county, trying to get as much off of the road as possible.

Hundreds of residents haven’t had power since Wednesday afternoon, including Hammock.

Even with all the bad, he’s still in good spirits, and says sticking it out with family is what it’s all about.

“We plan on riding it out. If I can keep my wife settled down, she’s ready to leave, but we’re going to try to ride it out,” Hammock said. 

Sheriff deputies say they plan on working late into night to continue to clear the roads.

One of the biggest concerns crews have is the wind picking up toppling even more treees over.