TUPELO – Ice Storm 2026, otherwise known as Fern, has accomplished its share of havoc in Oxford. They are telling us it could be a week to 10 or more days before power is restored. There is now no water pressure in some parts of town and it could take a while, too, to get the liquids flowing again.
So, on Tuesday, I packed up, gathered my wife and 11-year-old, and headed out to Tupelo where I write this column. Here, I am warm. Here, I have power and water. Here, I have Internet. Here, I have a daughter and son-in-law who have invited us to stay as long as we want…or need.
Our power went out sometime late Saturday night. Overnight Monday, the temperature plummeted to the low single digits. We decided it was time to leave.
Our team of writers in Oxford…me, Thomas Michael, Adam Brown and Daylan Flowers…have been paralyzed. No power equals no Internet which the sum total is an absence of stories. We do apologize for the inconvenience of Mother Nature.
When I arrived in Tupelo at my daughter’s house late Tuesday, I immediately asked her husband, Mason Glenn, about subscription sales throughout this untimely nightmare. Mason is our tech director and in charge of such things. I was pleased at what he told me.
We sold subscriptions every single day.
In large part that is because of our hero during this debacle…Lee Ann Herring. Lee Ann lives in Houston, Texas, which was also in the path of this winter storm. She temporarily relocated south to San Antonio and has done nothing but run our website. We are so proud of her and the job she has done. A+ all the way around.
I’m back online now, too. Soon, we will have the entire crew back.
I’d be remiss if I did not commend our podcasters, beginning with Marcus Dent and Jasson Watkins, to Steven Willis to Steven “Stingray” Ray and Heath Hopson to Shaune Holiday. They all did everything they could and more.
Finally, I want to thank you the reader. It is you that drives this site, through thick and thin and even an ice storm.
A terrible ice storm in Oxford.
Bless you and everyone affected remains in our prayers.
Amen.