It's another soggy mess for Citrus

Here we are again.

Instead of enjoying a warm Sunday afternoon folks in Crystal River, Homosassa, and Ozello were up to their necks in sogginess. Their belongings dragged to the curb, thanks to Hurricane Helene.

A few thoughts:

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— First off, those of us east of C.R. 491 need to understand that a significant weather event occurred, and that the western one-third of our county is hurting. I say that because in 2016, while writing for the Chronicle about similar events following Hurricane Hermine, I found an amazing number of people had no clue their west Citrus neighbors were suffering.

We are one county. We rise and fall together. Let’s not forget that.

— Check the JWC Facebook daily this week for post-storm updates.

— This is going to sound like Monday morning quarterbacking, and it's not. More of an observation. Everyone involved did a great job providing information to the community. Evacuations, shelters, public transportation, and the services that have kicked in since the water receded were all out there extensively.

As the new sheriff comes in, he may look at ways to make these messages more cohesive. It's not that anyone was stepping or anyone else's toes or posting contradictory information. With all those official voices, I wasn't sure who took the lead.

Thursday night, as the wind was howling, I had five Facebook pages up and running at once (plus JWC): Sheriff, Mayor Joe Meek, Chronicle, County, and Commissioner Holly Davis. Meek’s page was the only one with timely localized info as the storm approached and passed by. 

Davis also had good pre-storm info, some of which I shared (and has since followed with informative on-the-scene videos).

So…who’s taking the lead? Is it the sheriff’s office? The county? The commissioner?

On Thursday, as Helene approached, the sheriff’s website that featured a click for up-to-date information, posted the 8 a.m. National Hurricane Center update at 9 a.m. — and that was it. It never updated the storm information again. It kept the 9 a.m. briefing all day, except around 2 p.m. when it was exchanged for an Alert Citrus message.

Oddly, the sheriff’s office enacted Alert Citrus on Thursday, but only for those in the evacuation zone. When citizens east of U.S. 19 started squawking about the lack of notification, the Alert Citrus message went to everyone.

I’m glad to see these agencies utilize Facebook. As we’ve learned these last three years at Just Wright Citrus, this is a Facebook community. That’s how we communicate from one end to the other. There are numerous Citrus County community pages on Facebook. This county likes to chat, and it looks to Facebook.

What might help next time is a single Facebook landing page, someplace these other sites to feed into. A page that provides timely location information with citizen interaction. Sorta what Mayor Meek did.

Interactive is the way to go. (In that vein, I'll pin daily "Hurricane Helene Recovery Updates" atop the Just Wright Citrus Facebook page.)

— All eyes these next few weeks on Crystal River, Homosassa, and Ozello as cleanup continues and recovery begins. 

(I'm postponing Mike’s 66th and Buddy Bandana Paw-ty, scheduled for Oct. 12. We’re still getting the Buddy Bandanas — they're on order -- and raising money for a scholarship. Just not in two weeks, OK? We’ll rev up the plans again once our coastal neighbors are in decent shape.)

— Took a drive Sunday through Woodland Estates. That’s the neighborhood of finger canals on the north end of Crystal River. 

Seems like this community gets slammed with every storm surge. I remember riding through here with Chronicle photographer Matt Beck following prior storms, very similar scenes: People dragging their soaked belongings to the curb. Toys. Mattresses. Cabinets. Memories, oh so many memories, ruined by water damage.

It’s only stuff we always hear people say. At least you’re safe, they say. I get it, but losing special belongings really stinks. Seeing it all piled along the roadways is actually sad. These things don't come without heartbreak.

— As we have witnessed time and again, this community shows up for its own. No one is going through this alone. I saw church groups, youth organizations, politicians, community leaders, business owners, and ordinary folks show up in the hardest-hit areas to distribute water, food, supplies, and good cheer. 

That’s Citrus County. It’s how we’re built.

Here we are again. Back at it.

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