Mayor says KU is confident that 'the bulk of the county, including Midway, will have power' by midnight Monday

UPDATE: The mayor reported just before 8 p.m. that it appeared power had been restored to all of Midway, except "the North Gratz to East Higgins corridor and the Midway School Apartments."

Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift reported around noon today: "I have just left a meeting with KU representatives and county emergency workers. KU feels confident that the bulk of the county, including Midway, will have power back by midnight on Monday, July 23 (Monday going into Tuesday). This is certainly not the news we were hoping for, but at least we now know a firm timetable for how long we have to bear through this.  KU and LG&E have approximately 140 technicians working to restore power throughout the county, working shifts of 16 hours on and eight off. They remind anyone to stay away from any downed power line, as well as a few other very important safety tips:

• Check to make sure any electric stove is turned off - if you were cooking when the storm hit then it would be very easy to have forgotten to turn your burner off. Make sure you have not set anything on them which could cause fire when the power is restored. 
• If you have a generator, make sure it is not too close (within several feet) of an open garage door - this could cause deadly carbon monoxide to enter your home. 
• Although it is tempting to want to help push debris out of roadways, please do not move anything that is touching a downed power line. 
• Remember to discard perishable food items that are in your refrigerator or freezer. The Health Department warns that frozen food which has thawed cannot be refrozen and then eaten safely. 

"Going without power this long can make you irritable, anxious, furious, or all three, plus some. We are going to make it through this because we stick together. There are many, many good folks out right now working tirelessly to bring us back to a normal state of living. Let’s continue to encourage them, even feel free to bring them water bottles if you are so inclined and can safely do so."

Woodford County Emergency Management announced that the American Red Cross will be in Versailles' lower city parking lot behind the police station from 3 to 6 p.m. to hand out clean-up kits, water, tarps, trash bags, gloves etc.

Midway Baptist Church is setting up free portable showers from the Southern Baptist Convention, tentatively available from 4 to 8 p.m. "Bring towel and toiletries," Logan Nance advises on the Midway Musings Facebook page. "We will update once we are set up and let you know the exact time it is available for use."

Midway Christian Church announced that it will hold a community dinner at 6:30 p.m. and needs available helpers to report at 4 p.m.

UPDATE, 4:45 p.m.: Here is an enhanced screenshot of the latest KU-LGE outage map: