OUR OPINION: ... And then there was light

Many Ascension Parish residents have had their world brightened in the past week, as utility crews continue to restore electrical power to areas damaged by Hurricane Gustav last week.

Even our offices at The Weekly Citizen were affected by Gustav’s visit, with power being knocked out as the storm ripped through Ascension Parish Monday.

While Weekly Citizen editorial staffers and returned to work Tuesday to document Gustav’s trail of destruction through the parish, publisher Glenn Stifflemire put into motion the paper’s strategy to return to action as quickly as possible. The remaining staff returned Wednesday, working under generator power that day and Thursday to ensure we could provide you with a Weekend Edition to update damages and recovery efforts.

The storm also cut power to The Donaldsonville Chief and to our printing facility in Plaquemine and home of our sister publication, The Plaquemine Post/South. In our time of need, the Southwest Daily News in Sulphur - another GateHouse Media company -  stepped up and helped us to print our Weekend Edition so that it could reach you Friday. For that, we are eternally grateful.

We also thank Bastrop Daily Enterprise publisher Jerry Pye and Pittsburgh (Kan.)?Morning Sun publisher Stephen Wade, for their assistance in providing technical expertise, generator power and food to keep our staff going in such adverse conditions.

Our offices, as well as those in Plaquemine, regained electrical and Internet services over the weekend. This allowed us to return to somewhat normal conditions and to return to our regular printing schedule.

While our office did not have power for the week, we were able to update our Web site, www.weeklycitizen.com, from another location. There, we provided and will continue to provide breaking news and updates regarding hurricane recovery efforts. We will continue to do so as long as breaking information is made available, plus adding our regular online content from our print editions.

While many parish residents have had power restored and are trying to return to normal, there are still some who still may be in the dark because of heavy damage sustained in their area. To those residents, know that crews for both Entergy and DEMCO and their contract crews from other parts of the country are working feverishly to restore power to your area. You will be serviced as soon as possible. You have not been forgotten.