Page 8 - May-June 2020 Vol38 No1

MT. JULIET
Heroes Don’t Always Wear Capes
Earlier this year, the City of
Chattanooga, Department of Public
Works, sent equipment and ten
compassionate, selfless employees to
spend several days in the City of Mt.
Juliet, assisting in the recovery and
cleanup following a series of tornadoes
that devastated the region.
Disastrous Impact
At 12:32 a.m. CST March 3, a supercell
that produced two different tornadoes
touched down and ripped through the
Middle Tennessee region, including
the Metro area of Nashville, Davidson
County, the City of Mt. Juliet, Wilson
County and ending in the City of
Cookeville in Putnam County. The two
tornadoes carved out a path totaling
53.4 miles, with a radius of 800 yards
of damage. These tornadoes have been
classified as EF3 and EF4, having wind
speeds that topped between 136 to 200
mph.
After the twisters, residents of Middle a difference helping those who had been
Tennessee came out to view the damage
8 TPW May/June 2020
in their neighborhoods, places of business impacted by this natural disaster.
and recreational areas. Some of the
hardest-hit areas were entire subdivisions
and blocks of homes. In some instances
one home would be left untouched, while
the house next door was flattened, with
trees and limbs scattered everywhere.
Transformers were blown in multiple
areas, and damaged substations caused
mass power outages across the region.
Chattanooga Takes Action
TCAPWA President Justin Holland,
City of Chattanooga, Department of
Public Works Administrator, worked with
Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke as they
reached out to help the afflicted areas.
Realizing that these communities were
facing more than any city could possibly
handle on their own, Holland began
organizing aid efforts with Ricky Colston
and Rusty Blevings in the department’s
operations division of City Wide Services.
With their years of experience and
dedicated crews, they knew how to make
First Relief Crew
Second Relief Crew
by Matthew Dye
Mt. Juliet’s Situation
The City of Mt. Juliet is the largest city
in Wilson County, totaling ten miles at
its city limits and bordering Davidson
County. In 2017 the city’s population was
estimated to be 34,726 people. Its Public
Works department has 20-30 employees.
About a week before the tornadoes, the
city had acquired two mid-sized knuckle-
booms. Knuckleboom operators are
required to be certified, and most prefer
to have up to a month of practice before
being confident enough to use the heavy
machinery in a professional capacity.
The City of Mt. Juliet had the needed
equipment, but their operators had not yet
been fully trained on the new equipment
when the tornadoes struck the region.
The Initial Cleanup Trip
After coordinating with the Mt. Juliet
Public Works Department, and 24 hours
after the tornadoes hit, a crew of ten
dedicated Chattanooga volunteers were