Essential businesses open to provide crucial medicine and food

Published 3:23 pm Thursday, February 18, 2021

: A customer picks up items at Helping Hand Pharmacy Thursday morning. (Terri Cowart Frazier/The Vicksburg Post)

Dangerous road conditions remain in Vicksburg and Warren County, but some essential businesses reopened Wednesday.

Both Helping Hand Family Pharmacy and Morgan’s Bestway opened their doors Wednesday, albeit with altered hours.

“We opened around 9 a.m. and had to close at 12:15 p.m. (Wednesday) because of the weather,” Helping Hand Family Pharmacy cashier Harley Nevels said.

Cynthia Morgan, who is the owner of Morgan’s Bestway, said they closed at 5 p.m. Wednesday so employees could get home safely. On Thursday they didn’t open until 9:30 a.m.

“Everybody lives far out and with trees down across the road, it took longer for everybody to get here,” Morgan said.

Nevels said four-wheel drive vehicles made it possible for her bosses and some of the other employees to come to work.

During their hours of operation, both Morgan and Nevels said business has been brisk.

“We were pretty steady (Wednesday) as far as people calling in. We had a lot of people come to the window,” Nevels said.

Morgan said Wednesday brought a wave of customers looking to stock up on staples that had been depleted after several days of being housebound.

“We had a big day Wednesday,” Morgan said. “We may have a little milk left, be we sold out of all the bread, all the rolls, the Hawaiian rolls, white bread — everything,” she said.

Morgan said they also sold out of Ramen noodles, but still have some gallon jugs of water left and ice.

And for those needing medication who cannot drive to the pharmacy because of the roads, Nevels said the Warren County Sheriff’s Department and the Vicksburg Police Department have been offering to pick up and deliver.

“We are going to be here to make sure everybody gets their medicine, but we don’t want anyone getting hurt either,” she said.

People’s Drug Store is also opening for those in need of their medication. The long-standing downtown Vicksburg pharmacy will be open Friday from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. before returning to regular business hours Saturday.

About Terri Cowart Frazier

Terri Frazier was born in Cleveland. Shortly afterward, the family moved to Vicksburg. She is a part-time reporter at The Vicksburg Post and is the editor of the Vicksburg Living Magazine, which has been awarded First Place by the Mississippi Press Association. She has also been the recipient of a First Place award in the MPA’s Better Newspaper Contest’s editorial division for the “Best Feature Story.”

Terri graduated from Warren Central High School and Mississippi State University where she received a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis in public relations.

Prior to coming to work at The Post a little more than 10 years ago, she did some freelancing at the Jackson Free Press. But for most of her life, she enjoyed being a full-time stay at home mom.

Terri is a member of the Crawford Street United Methodist Church. She is a lifetime member of the Vicksburg Junior Auxiliary and is a past member of the Sampler Antique Club and Town and Country Garden Club. She is married to Dr. Walter Frazier.

“From staying informed with local governmental issues to hearing the stories of its people, a hometown newspaper is vital to a community. I have felt privileged to be part of a dedicated team at The Post throughout my tenure and hope that with theirs and with local support, I will be able to continue to grow and hone in on my skills as I help share the stories in Vicksburg. When asked what I like most about my job, my answer is always ‘the people.’

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