That changed about 6 p.m. Tuesday night, and getting back to normal was “fabulous,” Durocher told the Dayton Daily News. “Life is exponentially easier with electricity.”
The four-day saga was “inconvenient and expensive,” she added in a message to this news organization.
Aside from tossing out spoiled food, the family “adapted by doing laundry at the home of family members and eating most of our meals out,” Durocher said, noting that they were “racing to complete the children’s homework after school before it gets dark in the house and becomes too difficult to see.
“My husband works remotely but has an office in Columbus so he … had to travel there to work,” she added. “We have an electric vehicle so the necessity to charge it adds to the logistical complexity that is managing a family of 7 without electricity.
Seeing the devastation in areas like North Carolina and Florida — among the locations hardest hit by the hurricane — the family was “grateful that the damage was not worse and we (tried) to maintain a positive perspective.”
Around noon Wednesday, AES Ohio was reporting about 1,200 customers remaining without power. All of the outages were smaller, with no single outage affecting more than 50 customers.
A day earlier, the AES website showed dozens of clusters without power in Kettering and Oakwood. That included Kettering Municipal Court, according to the city. Power was restored at the court late Wednesday morning, Clerk of Courts Rob Scott said.
AES reported to Oakwood on Tuesday afternoon that there were 25 outages, City Manager Norbert Klopsch said in an email. Eight were clustered in one area along East Schantz Avenue near Lookout Drive and the other 17 were single locations, he added.
“None of the 25 property owners have requested assistance, although, as is typical with power outages, we receive inquiries about the estimated timeline on power being restored,” Klopsch said.
Kettering’s engineering department said it has been in contact with AES staff throughout storm recovery efforts.
“We are relying upon AES staff to prioritize their restoration of specific neighborhoods and customers that remain without power,” according to the department.
Meanwhile, Kettering’s fire/EMS crews have assisted residents with “urgent medical needs” during the power outage, city officials said.
Storm debris cleanup
Both Kettering and Oakwood have ways residents can clear yard debris.
Kettering has extended hours at its yard debris center at 1840 Woodman Center Drive through Oct. 13.
The center will be open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to the city.
The city also is performing a one-pass storm debris collection next week, officials said. The guidelines, according to the city, include:
• Debris must be placed behind the curb, out of roadway and away from personal property that can be damaged as a result of pickup.
• Limbs must be cut in a size less than six feet in length and six inches in diameter.
• Stumps, as well as contractor-cut limbs or debris, will not be collected.
• Do not mix storm debris with leaves. City-wide leaf pickup begins Oct. 21.
• Have all debris to the curb by 7 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 7.
Rumpke will take up to three tied bundles next to your trash toter, according to Kettering officials. Customers are asked to bundle twigs and brush in no more than four foot lengths tied together for Rumpke to take on regular trash day.
Oakwood has been collecting storm debris with two crews since Monday, according to the city.
Crew 1 is working from north to south on the west side of Far Hills Avenue while Crew 2 is working from south to north on the east side of Far Hills. A map is available on Oakwood’s website, oakwoodohio.gov/.
Residential brush drop-off is available 24/7 in Oakwood at the Recycling and Yard Waste Drop-Off facility located at the front entrance to the J. David Foell Public Works Center, 210 Shafor Blvd.
Washington Twp. outages
The outage clusters that Washington Twp. officials were aware of Tuesday were in the Brittany Hills subdivision, Grantland Drive off Rahn Road, some homes in the Grants Trail neighborhood, and a small section of Washington Creek subdivision off of Clyo Road.
Staff Writer Eric Schwartzberg contributed to this report.
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