Hidden Forest Road neighbors come together to clean up

Residents are considering a new name for their Emmett Township neighborhood after last weekend's storm and subsequent cleanup.
Nearly every house in the Hidden Forest neighborhood near 10-Mile Road was damaged by falling trees when winds of about 100 miles per hour struck the Battle Creek metropolitan area Sunday.
"We all had a chain saw party, it was wonderful," said Chris Barnes, one of the residents on Hidden Forest Road.
She said while the storm damage was heartbreaking, the response by the residents was heartwarming.
"After it was over people started coming out and checking on each other," she said. "And everyone who had chain saws pitched in. It was great."
And while police investigate reports of people stealing downed power lines for scrap, neighbors helping each other has been a frequent theme in several parts of the city and surrounding area after the storm bowled over thousands of trees, knocked out power to nearly 34,000 Consumers Energy customers and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.
Both Emmett Township Supervisor Pat Daugherty and Public Safety Director Mike Olson said they have seen whole neighborhoods working together throughout the township.
In Hidden Forest, Barnes said it began as she drove into the neighborhood during the storm. Trees were already blocking the roadway and she stopped at a neighbor's home, announcing she was coming inside and taking refuge with them in the basement.
"We know each other and we try to have a neighborhood picnic each year," she said. "We watch out for each other's children so this didn't surprise me."
She said residents checked on their neighbors and then began helping each other clean some of the debris. Workers from nearby Katz Well Drilling used heavy equipment to clear the street and residents with chain saws went to work.
"I didn't recognize it after the storm," Barnes said. "It didn't look like Hidden Forest. Ninety percent of the people had trees on their house or car. We are thinking of calling it 'Open Prairie.'"