By Barbara Augsdorfer, Editor for the Effingham Herald

Tropical storm Idalia blew through Effingham County on Aug. 30, and although there was some periods of heavy rain and wind, there were “no problems” in Guyton, according to Police Chief James Breletic.

Except for a few power outages, Rincon had no major issues with the storm as well.

“All my officers were on the job checking homes and businesses. If they saw downed tree limbs, they picked them up,” Breletic said on Aug. 31.

“We really thank the public for heeding calls for staying home. It really helped us do our jobs,” Breletic added. “We had no major calls.”

In Rincon, Mayor Ken Lee called for a curfew beginning at 7 p.m. Aug. 30 at the suggestion of Police Chief Jonathon Murrell.

The curfew, “was at my suggestion,” Murrell explained. “Because businesses were starting to close up.”

The curfew was lifted about 2 ½ hours later. Murrell added all of Rincon’s officers were on site and prepared to respond to calls.

“We were prepared and luckily we didn’t need it,” he said.

Pineora Baptist Church in Guyton was the only location in Effingham County to open as a shelter.

“Effingham County Emergency Management asked us to open. They brought the cots and pillows,” said Pastor Brian McElveen of Pineora Baptist.

“We had one family of about five or six people spend the night,” McElveen said.

Springfield Police Department also stated there were no major incidents related to the storm.