Road manager Jerry Haynie recognized county work crews for their effort in providing assistance to victims of the Christmas week tornado that struck portions of Marshall County.

During his report to the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors Monday, Haynie said that there were nearly two dozen county employees and four pieces of equipment that headed immediately to the Holly Springs area when the devastating tornado struck Dec. 23.

“We were ready and had all the equipment loaded up and sitting on go,” Haynie said. “I didn’t know they would need us as bad as they did in Marshall County.”

After heading out around 7 p.m., Haynie said the crews met up with Marshall County crews and began clearing roads of debris.

“I was real proud of them. We opened up roads for them and just did what they needed,” Haynie said. “It was devastating being there after the tornado went through there and destroyed everything.”

Haynie said his crews have unfortunately had experience dealing with the aftermath of a tornado, having gone through three of them in recent years. But that experience paid off in assisting Marshall County.

“It made a lot of difference when you know what to do and how to do it,” Haynie said.

He also praised emergency management director David Shaw for being the main contact; fire coordinator Wes Anderson who was at the command center and county engineer Larry Britt for making connections with the devastated area when communication was down. Sheriff Buddy East and his department also assisted

“All these different departments just worked really well together,” Haynie said.

Haynie said his crews finished up around 2 a.m. Christmas Eve and none of them asked how long they were going to work.

“We had to make them stop and I was proud of that,” Haynie said. “A lot of folks lost everything and I just ask that you pray for them.”