Feb 21, 2008 5:31 pm US/Mountain
Snowbound Park Co. Residents Get Pay It 4ward Help
Written for the Web by Libby Smith, CBS4 special projects producer
-
-
Joe and Jan Connelly in snowy Park County
CBS
-
-
Dee Dee Giesinger, owner of the Jefferson Market
CBS
The idea behind CBS4's Pay it Forward Colorado project is to give $1,000 to a Coloradan (or group of Coloradans) who will use the money to change someone else's life. Below lies CBS4's Feb. 21 report.
JEFFERSON, Colo (CBS4) - At the heart of the tiny town of Jefferson in Park County stands the only market for 50 miles. The Jefferson Market is more than just a store; it's also the local post office and a gathering place for residents.
"This year you can guess the only thing they've talked about is the weather," said Dee Dee Giesinger, the owner of the store.
The snow and wind combined to create 24 foot drifts and more than 100 people were stranded in their homes. The conditions were so bad that the state declared a state of emergency in the county. It took crews four days to open up 700 miles of roads.
"We have private roads and county roads that haven't had access for well over a week now," Giesinger said.
Far off the roads, there's a tiny camper that Joe and Jan Connelly call home. They are still trying to dig out of the snow.
"Jan and I, we scooped for 14 hours over the weekend trying to get out," Joe Connelly told CBS4.
Joe is 70 and his wife, Jan, is 67. They moved to Park County with the hopes of building their dream home and enjoying their golden years, but Mother Nature has not cooperated.
"One time it was five days in a row that we couldn't get down to work," Jan Connelly said.
The couple works 14 hour days cleaning homes in Denver. The snow has made getting to their jobs impossible and now they're running out of supplies like water and propane.
"When they run out of propane, you don't know about them. Everybody worries about them," Giesinger said.
It's the worry and the weather that prompted Giesinger to pay it forward to the Connellys.
"I just feel they are the most deserving. There are many families who deserve help," Giesinger said.
With $1,000 the Connellys will be able to get their propane tanks filled, fix the homemade windscreen that keeps them from blowing off the mountain and get some work done on their car that has not survived well in the wintry weather.
(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
