(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. — Kenosha County Executive Samantha Kerkman on Thursday praised county employees, first responders, utility workers and community organizations involved in the response to Wednesday night’s severe storms, which left thousands without power and caused significant damage across the county.
In a statement released Thursday, Kerkman thanked county departments including Highway, Parks, Facilities and Golf crews, along with the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office, municipal governments, fire departments, utility crews and other emergency responders who worked through the aftermath of the storm.
Kerkman also highlighted the efforts of the Kenosha County Division of Emergency Management, which activated the 211 property damage reporting portal shortly after the storm. She additionally thanked Niagara Bottling and the Journey Church Disaster Response Team for coordinating deliveries of emergency drinking water to affected communities. According to the release, 10 pallets of water were delivered to both the Town of Paris and the Town of Somers.
As recovery efforts continued Thursday afternoon, some residents remained without electricity. Kerkman noted that WE Energies reported more than 60 utility poles had been knocked down during the storm. She urged motorists to use caution near repair crews and to avoid driving around barricades, emphasizing that utility restoration sites remain active work zones.
“Again, my thanks go to the crews who have put many hours into this storm response, and to the residents who have shown great patience during this difficult time for many,” Kerkman said.
County officials said residents who experienced storm-related property damage can report it through the activated 211 system. Additional assistance is also available through the Red Cross and the Journey Disaster Response Team.
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25 Responses
We should be grateful for the dedicated employees who take care of the County, even when they have needs at home. So, a big thank you to all of them in our time of need. Some might say we pay for that, but you can’t put a price on dedication. Once again, thank you.
It’s called Over Time !
Time and a Half for every hour worked outside of their normal shifts. These village town and city workers count on overtime hours to make up for not having higher paying private sector jobs.
It’s a give and take scenario.
Lesser hourly pay public vs private but you damn near have to kill somebody to lose a government job. Good health benefits, pensions, vacations and consistent work.
The snow plow overtime is fantastic !
It doesn’t happen every year so good but it does happen.
And like here we then
“Thank Them for Doing Their Damn Jobs !!!”
BFD !! It’s what they signed up for. I’ve seen these road and highway guys drive around cutting up branches and fallen trees, run them through an chipper and then leave a mess of small sticks and leaves when 5 more minutes with a $300. backpack blower and a shovel and the job is better done than just “good enough” !!
It’s their Effin Job !! Just do it !
STFU. You work at Taco Bell.
.. I’m just pointing out that “some” people just like the security that a fixed income government job brings.
And with that security comes the opportunity to get over time. Consistently.
We’ve all seen the stories of cops making 6 figures sometimes over 200K in a year.
Plenty of examples of county and city boards limiting the budgets by limiting the number of employees yet then because of the work loads this limited number of employees then have to pull more shifts to get the jobs done. At overtime.
This ends up costing more in the end but keeps the number on payroll lower.
It’s a shell game.
And the employees that are the pawns like being the pawns.
I’m not picking on these people for wanting these jobs and doing these jobs but don’t get all grateful when they have to do exactly what they know happens. Working extra sometimes.
These are rarely salaried personnel pulling these hard hours for no extra pay. Sure they’re out there but not with a chainsaw or shovel in their hands.
Those people working in the rain over night are getting the extra pay.
That’s their thanks.
And no I don’t work at Taco Bell
Taco John’s – going out of business shortly
You piece of shit have no idea what you are talking about! Yes, these are state jobs, but everyone has choices in life. If they don’t choose this Avenue, they can choose a different Avenue.
Hater
Well, it’s probably your effin tree. So, you’re welcome.
100%
So… County wouldn’t hire you? Awww…
It’s there job that they signed up for and are getting paid for. Did they do the work for free?
Interesting- Niagara which can pull water from lake Michigan for profit but those west of i94 cant thanks to wirch.
Fuck the politicians. All of them.
The obsession with cheering for people simply doing the jobs they’re paid to do is killing our sense of genuine competence. Every “hero” sticker and participation badge is just another step toward infantilizing the workforce and replacing true grit with a craving for public validation. Do the work, take the paycheck, and stop looking for a round of applause for showing up.
There’s nothing wrong with expressing appreciation for people’s hard work. It doesn’t kill genuine competence, it takes a mentally strong individual to approach life with a grateful heart.
Not everyone needs a “hero sticker” or “participation badge,” and I don’t see any comments where workers are begging for thanks or recognition.
However, a “Hey, thanks for your hard work.” Or “Thanks for putting your plans on hold to get things opened up and the power back on,” shows that you’re a virtuous individual, which is something society is sorely lacking these days— even more lacking than people with grit who are willing to do the hard work.
Ya know what I am seeing all over the comment sections? Whiners- people complaining that roads aren’t open fast enough, power isn’t restored fast enough. And, in this comment section, people are so entitled that they feel it acceptable to complain about others’ gratitude. Absolutely insane.
Plenty of people feel entitled to complain that things aren’t happening on their timeline. Entitlement feeds laziness, gratitude does the opposite.
Gratitude is a fine virtue, but don’t confuse common courtesy with the state-sponsored ritual of “hero worship.”
The issue isn’t saying thanks—it’s the systematic elevation of a paycheck-earning role into a moral crusade. When we frame basic maintenance as some act of profound, self-sacrificing virtue, we feed into a narrative that requires constant institutional validation.
“Grit” doesn’t need to be marketed, and it certainly doesn’t require a public performance of thanks to be sustained. If you think a society is “virtuous” because people spend their time patting each other on the back for doing their jobs, you’re mistaking sentimentality for strength. True virtue is doing the work without needing the emotional feedback loop.
You’ve missed the point entirely. It’s not about the necessity of giving thanks, it’s about doing it REGARDLESS of the necessity. Giving thanks even when you don’t HAVE to, giving thanks even when people don’t need to be thanked— but because telling people you appreciate them is simply the right thing to do.
Just… being kind. Being GOOD, in the purest sense of the word.
Not seeking the darkness in every situation, but sharing the light.
You seem to have a lot of excuses for not wanting to be grateful. It must be so incredibly stressful being so self righteous all the time.
I’ll stick with gratitude.
“Purest sense of goodness,” huh? That’s a poetic way of saying you’ve confused basic social lubrication with moral depth.
You’re clinging to “gratitude” like a security blanket because it shields you from the reality that our institutions are rotting. It’s easy to play the “light-bringer” by handing out participation cookies for jobs people are already paid to do—it requires zero sacrifice and buys you a comfortable seat in the conformist circle.
If pointing out that your “virtue” is just a performance makes me seem “self-righteous,” then consider me guilty. I’d rather stare into the “darkness” of reality than squint at a fake, sunny version of it while the world crumbles. Enjoy your gratitude; it’s a lovely way to make sure you never have to actually confront the systemic failure happening around you. Stay soft.
People with your attitude are the reason things are crumbling.
Like these workers were doing something else when they got called in ?
It doesn’t matter if you work for WE Energies or the fire department or the county or town roads crews, when weather is forecast like this was for days in advance that we were in the high probability for tornadoes these “workers” made plans to be ready to go out and put in those hours.
No different than the guys who see a big snow forecast days in advance, they check their trucks, get some sleep and when the phone rings they go.
And they get paid fucking well !!!!
Put their plans on hold ?!?
No. Their plans were to go make MONEY !!
Thanks for doing your FUCKING JOB !!!
Crying all the way to the Bank
Well if they ever start referring to tornados with a name how about “Tornado Kerkman”?
I surely intend to purchase a back up generator, couple of power stations with all the outages. Got to keep the fridges, AC going. In winter have to keep the furnace running. Simply can’t trust the infrastructure these days or the enemies our dishonest politicians continue to aggravate. Heard to many stories this round of storms of damage digital appliances due to surges ir spikes not to mention lost food resulting fron no electricity for 20 hours.
Someone buy Sam a brush 🫢
Here comes the person obsessed with her hair again. Post a pic of yourself so we can evaluate you. Get a life instead of commenting about women’s looks.