Hurricane Frances
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Hurricane Frances damaged and toppled
trees throughout Ranger’s West Palm Beach facilities, but the office and
shop buildings
held up well.
The remains of an emergency
generator building at Ranger’s West Palm Beach
facilities after Frances.
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Eddie S. Ortiz drags traffic barrels for
re-installation after Hurricane Frances blew through West Palm Beach. The
barrels had to be packed away again just three weeks later for Hurricane
Jeanne.
Ranger’s Ft. Pierce office suffered roof and interior damage from
Hurricane Jeanne, while the asphalt plant (below) lost exterior panels on the
silos and mixing drum during Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne.
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Round two came on Labor Day weekend, with Hurricane Frances
hitting from the east, wreaking havoc at Ranger's West Palm Beach facilities,
toppling trees, damaging fences and some equipment, and flooding the asphalt
lab.
Ranger’s Ft. Pierce facilities also took a hit as the storm
moved northwest. The office roof buckled and the asphalt plant suffered damage.
High winds peeled open the outer shells of the asphalt mixing drum and one of
the silos. Damaged trees dotted the property.
Hurricane Ivan
Ivan threatened just days later, shutting down Ranger job sites
until it finally landed in Florida’s Panhandle. Though outside of Ranger’s
territory, Ivan brought substantial rain and flooding to the Mid-Atlantic states
where Vecellio & Grogan operates, as did the remnants of Charley and Frances.
Not content to hit Florida once, part of Ivan circled east and
south as a tropical storm, crossing through Ranger Central’s territory and
flooding the rain-soaked area even further.
Hurricane Jeanne
But Mother Nature still was not finished. Waiting in the wings
was Hurricane Jeanne, which had everyone guessing as it did a complete
loop-the-loop in the Atlantic Ocean, then aimed due west for Palm Beach and
Martin Counties. It made landfall in virtually the same spot as Frances three
weeks earlier and followed a similar path northwest through the state.
The one-two punch was more than Ranger’s Ft. Pierce office could
absorb. Jeanne tore open the office roof and caused significant interior damage.
Carpeting had to be ripped out, walls gutted and ceiling tiles replaced to
repair the water damage and eliminate the potential for mold problems. The
mechanic’s shop also lost part of its roof, while the asphalt plant’s drum and
silos lost more exterior panels.
Employees Rise To The Occasion
Employees, of course, were also affected by the storms. Many had
home and property damage and endured extended outages of power, water and phone
service. Despite the difficulties, employees at each location rose to the
occasion, helping each other and the company get back to “normal” in what was a
slow and exasperating process.
Especially appreciated are Ranger employeees who worked on Labor
Day immediately following Hurricane Frances: Bobby Angel, Terry Basher, Wayne
Bolin, Dave Boston, Steve Brown, Abe Cantu, Joe Childs, Arthur Clinton, Dan
Cooney, Miguel Correa, Jason Daley, Eyon Gordon, Jorge Hernandez, Johnny Hughes,
Shelby Jarrell, Elizabeth Kerstner, James Lowe, Moe MacAllister, Merle Manke,
Rick Morris, Nancye Myles, Ted Neely, Oscar Oliva, Ilene Passler, Alvin Peete,
Kevin Phillipson, Charles Purvis, Miles Purvis, Larry Roberts, Doug Rosencrans,
Bob Schafer, John Shively, Jeff Singleton, Mike Slade, Robert Sneed, Jon Stover,
Blake Studdard, Clint Talley, Jorge Villar, and Angel Zelaya.
