By BERRY CRAIG
AFT Local 1360
Five union card-carrying Lexington Waste Management Dept. workers are among volunteers pitching in to help clean up tornado-shattered Dawson Springs.
Members of AFSCME Local 4468, they are Drivers Mike Page and James Mason, Ancillary Supervisor Eric Wheeler and Public Service Workers Aaron Miller and Kevin Madden.
"I'm so proud of the five waste management employees!" said Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton on her Facebook page. "...Last week I reached out to Hopkins County Judge-Executive Jack Whitfield and asked him how we could help."
Whitfield requested a pair of "knuckleboom" trucks and a crew to operate them. "We've sent two trucks and five of our best," Gorton said.
In Hopkins County, Dawson Springs is one of the western Kentucky communities hardest hit by the deadly tornado that scourged the region on the night of Dec. 10.
"It is horrible to see the damage in western Kentucky," said Jeff Wiggins, Kentucky State AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer, who is also helping in the relief effort. "You hear so many heart-wrenching stories. This is such a tragedy. Please say a prayer for the people."