Governor O'Malley on behalf of the citizens of Garrett County, we thank you for your confidence in us when you referred to us as "hardy people" on CNN the other evening when asked about the snow coming to Garrett County from the Hurricane.

 

Hurricane Sandy has indeed tested our strength and has shown us that we sometimes need to count on others for that extra stamina. The assets you and other counties have deployed to Garrett County, and the genuine concern of your administration is gratifying as we continue to "dig out" from this storm. A big thank you goes out to First Energy for being here for the citizens, and to all the out of state utility companies who are now on the ground here in the area.

 

We want to emerge from this stronger and we must thank the residents for their patience and the many who have checked on neighbors and friends as well as the first responders and fire and rescue personnel who have braved the storm to keep our citizens safe. This truly is an all out neighbor helping neighbor that has no geographic boundaries.

 

Our staff has worked tirelessly to make sure everything possible is being done to protect the citizens whom they serve. We have a lot of work to do to bring our County back to normal and today should provide citizens with assurance that in partnership we shall overcome.