Curfew, business closure ordered
Published 12:00 am Thursday, July 14, 2005
As Hurricane Dennis approached Southwest Alabama, the city of Greenville began shutting down to prepare for the worst.
Mayor Dexter McLendon appeared on WSFA News and various radio stations to announce a 3 p.m. curfew for the city.
&uot;We want everyone off the streets and at a safe location before the storm hits.
We’ve announced this 3:00 curfew so that our law enforcement and public personnel can have time to get to a safe destination as well,&uot; McLendon said.
After the winds began to subside later in the evening, the mayor announced on WSFA that the curfew had been lifted.
&uot;The curfew for our city will be officially over at 9 p.m., even though most people won’t know this because they don’t have power right now,&uot; he said.
With the lifting of the curfew, people slowly began to emerge to assess the damages.
Most waited until Monday morning before leaving their homes.
Many of Greenville’s businesses, however, were attempting to reopen as quickly as power was restored.
Even though Piggly Wiggly closed at 10 a.m. Sunday, it was up and running by 1 p.m. Monday.
&uot;We got power and were able to open by 1:00,&uot; Harold Teague, manager of Piggly Wiggly, said.
According to Randy Beeson, Fred’s store manager, they closed at 2:30 Sunday after they were informed of the 3:00 curfew.
&uot;We got our power back at 9:50 this morning, so we were able to open by 10:15.
We’ve had people looking for batteries, lamp oil, canned meats and other supplies, but we were already out of those things.
Last week, we sold approximately 2,000 cases of water.
That’s the one thing we still have in stock today.
Our truck comes in Tuesday, July 12, so we’re hoping to have all of the special-ordered items in at that time.
We hope to be fully restocked for our customers Tuesday,&uot; Beeson said.
Family Dollar closed its doors around 2 p.m. Sunday, and reopened at 9 a.m. Monday.
Wal-Mart was able to reopen at 12:30, while CVS received power and opened at noon.
There was a long line in front of Cracker Barrel at noon Monday, but that line quickly disappeared as customers were promptly seated.
Because the power had not been on long, the regular lunch specials were not available, but all the other menu items were.
This same scenario could be found at Just Julie’s on West Commerce Street, when it had power restored and opened its doors at 10 a.m. They were able to serve breakfast and regular menu items only as well.
On the other hand, while most everyone was seeking safety from Hurricane Dennis, there were two burglaries that took place during the curfew.
According to Captain Wayne Fussell of the Greenville Police Department, someone kicked in the front door of The Smokehouse on Pineapple Highway and stole one roll of bologna and four boxes of candy.
Also, at approximately 5:30 Monday morning, someone broke a side glass door at Wal-Mart.
&uot;The burglar broke one section of the jewelry case, but the employees had removed and locked up the most expensive jewelry before the store closed Sunday.
As far as the manager could tell, nothing else was taken,&uot; Captain Fussell said.
&uot;It’s hard to believe how some people will try to take advantage of a situation.&uot;