Meadows weathers rough storm

Rolling Meadows may not have been dealt the worst of last week's storm, but coping with power outages isn't easy for anyone.

Some residents and businesses had no electricity for days. By now many have recovered, but there are still stories to tell.

At the grocery store:ŒAt Jewel/Osco on Kirchoff Road, the power was out for 23 hours starting Thursday afternoon, but the store stayed closed for 38 hours while workers tossed some food and restocked shelves.

The store lost its ice cream and other frozen items and some Chef's Kitchen products, said Juanita Kocanda, manager of Jewel Food Stores public affairs.

John Nylen, the store's director, worked 31 hours straight, she said. "Our quality control group comes in and all the food has to be up to temperature before reopening," she said.

Nylen said he noticed that Sunday and Monday after re-opening were unusually busy.

At school:ŒDistrict 15 schools remained open, so the four without power in Rolling Meadows faced some challenges.

At Kimball Hill Elementary, most parents kept their children home, but about 60 children walked through the doors, Principal Brian Le Crone said.

The windows provided enough light for reading, but only one bathroom was lit.

"It was a tough thing to get through, but the kids and staff did really well," Le Crone said.

In the neighborhood:ŒRoy and Laura Gedeborg said their home on Eagle Lane was out of power until Sunday, as was much of the neighborhood.

"I figure it was out almost exactly 72 hours," said Laura, a stay-at-home mother of two.

She said the hardest part was having no TV or computer to entertain her 3-year-old when she needed to tend to her newborn. "He just didn't understand what was going on," she said.

It also was difficult late at night to change diapers by the light of a camping lantern.

The Gedeborgs borrowed a generator from Laura's parents to keep the sump pump and refrigerator going -- though they had to alternate between them every hour or two.

At the library:ŒThe Rolling Meadows library could have functioned with the natural light that comes in. "The thing that kept us closed was the temperature control system," said library Director Dave Ruff. "When the air-conditioning went out, the heat was rising rapidly."

The library doubles as one of the city's cooling centers for those who need relief from the heat.

By Saturday afternoon the power was back, and the library opened at the usual time Sunday.

What about those patrons with books due during the outage? "We didn't charge for the days we were closed," Ruff assured. "We realize it's not their fault."

It was the longest outage Ruff can remember in his seven years at the library. "We're hoping that's the end of the bad weather for the year."