Tennessee National Guard ready to assist with winter storm
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JACKSON, Tenn. — The Tennessee National Guard said soldiers are on call, ready to assist local authorities during this round of winter weather. Winter weather left drivers stranded on Christmasville Road on Wednesday. Donsanelle White said someone smashed into her car. “Oh, it’s horrible,” she said. “It’s horrible. Everybody’s sliding everywhere.” The Tennessee National Guard said soldiers are on standby, ready to help during the worst winter storm in years. “If something happened here, there could be soldiers from every surrounding county,” Michael Wilson, administrative officer for the 194th Engineer Brigade, said. Wilson said guardsmen can do anything from debris removal to welfare checks. He said soldiers patrolled Interstate 40 on Monday night in Middle Tennessee. “Having our vehicles that can pretty much go anywhere whether they’re high water vehicles or in the snow, that kind of helps,” Wilson said. The Tennessee Highway Patrol works with the Tennessee National Guard. “If we have to get out on the interstate and the well traveled roads and do rescues, we’ll be able to do that tonight,” said Lt. Brad Wilbanks. White was not hurt in Wednesday‘s accident, but her car did sustain some damage. “It’s on the driver side, the front and back door, and my mirror’s gone, so unfortunately it looks pretty horrible,” she said. The THP encourages people to slow down if they have to get out. The Tennessee National Guard said soldiers also delivered cots to the Smithville Fire Department in Middle Tennessee to be used in one of the shelters there.
