MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – The recent record-setting blizzard caused a great deal of inconvenience and disruption across the region.
Marquette County Sheriff Greg Zyburt is thanking people from the private sector who rose to the occasion and helped them get through the storm.
One such occasion had the potential to turn deadly, as a Marquette nursing home lost heat during the storm. Facing the prospect of evacuating residents from the facility, sheriff’s personnel reached out to local businesses, who worked together to solve the problem. They were able to secure a portable furnace, blowers to supply the heat, all the necessary hardware, the expertise to install the equipment, transportation of the heavy equipment, and even snow removal to gain access to where the equipment was stored. Zyburt said this would be a monumental undertaking in good weather, let alone in the face of hurricane-force winds.
“They were out of heat, and we got a hold of the private sector, again, someone from HVAC, someone from the different municipalities, to get a 500-pound gallon of propane gas, Midway rental to get us the heater, and have the road commission plow all these different entities to the location so they could fix it. And it worked out,” said Sheriff Zyburt.
The private sector pitched in in other ways as well. After the food service personnel for the jail couldn’t make it to work, Sheriff Zyburt said area restaurants provided food for the staff and inmates. Zyburt also praised area hotels that housed first responders during the blizzard.
